
fi I ill 'Ml 



I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, § 



Chap. 
Shelf 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



>•' 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS'.^ 



CONTAINING 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



CHRISTIAN TRUTHS. 



/ 



COLLECTED BY JOSEPH WALTON. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

AT FRIENDS' BOOK STORE, 304 ARCH STREET. 



888. 



•» COM.*, 






Wm. H. Pile's Sons, Printers, 
No. 422 Walnut Street. 



PREFACE 



In preparing the present volume, the writer has endeavored 
to show that the tender mercies of the Lord extend to all 
the creatures whom He has made; that his dealings with 
men are designed to make them "partakers of the Divine na- 
ture, having escaped the corruption that is in the world 
through lust;" and that this happy result is effected through 
his own Divine power and spirit, acting immediately on the 
mind, or through such means as He may see fit to use. 

The desire of the author will be answered, if, through the 
Lord's blessing, some of his readers may be instructed in the 
way that leads to peace, and may be encouraged so to follow 
the leadings of the Spirit of Christ as to receive the full 
fruition of those blessings which his outward coming among 
men was designed to procure for mankind. 

In the anecdotes which have been introduced, care has 
been taken not to make use of any incidents of whose au- 
thenticity there was a reasonable doubt. Many of them are 
taken from the autobiographies of writers whose statements 
are thoroughly to be relied upon. Of the remainder, several 
occurred within the knowledge of the author himself, or of 
persons whom he knew and confided in. 

Some foot-notes have been introduced, giving short sketches 
of some of the persons mentioned, and occasional references 
to sources whence further information may be derived. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I.— OPERATIONS OF DIVINE GKACE. 

Chapter I. — Teaching of Divine Grace. Among Barbarous 
People. The Young Man of Feeble Intellect. Martha Eouth 
when a Child. The Friend of Push River. Theodore Parker 
and the Water Turtle. John Churchman when Young. Job 
Scott's Early Impressions. Are we ( 'hristians? The Boy that 
Died a Martyr. The Norwegian Boy. Tenderness of Con- 
science in < hildren. Tempted to Buy a Cigar. William Wil- 
liams and the Little Girl. The Child and the Tavern-keeper. 
The Boy in a Street Car. William Hone and his Daughter. 
Dr. Vinton and his Patient. Mary Capper's Experience. John 
Fothergill's Childish Oath, 9 

Chapter II. — Converting Power of Divine ( hace. The College 

Student. Mary M . The Young German Baptist. John 

Flavel's Message. E. Worth's Neighbor. Daniel Stanton's 
Experience. The Scotch Virago Reformed. Edward Wright's 
Awakening. Special Reasons of Visitation, . . . .27 

Chapter III. — Conversion by Instrumental Means. Gospel 
Ministry. John Ashton. John Estaugh's Preaching. Bap- 
tizing Power of True Ministry. Effect on Joseph Pike. Sam- 
uel Neale's Awakening. "What Can this Old Fool Say?" 
William Williams' Reproof. Dreams. David Ferris. Of the 
Oh worthy Captain. Of the Pasture Field. Of Giving Way 
to Provocation. Of Washing Linen. Of the Dangerous 
Ferry Boat. Of Helping a Neighbor. < )f Going to Hell. 
Warnings and Accidents. S. Grellet at St. Gilles. Racing 
Horses. The Privateer " Tartar." The Singer and the Poor 
Laborer. The Widow of Lyons. Example. Effect of on an 
Infidel. "Aunt Mary's Practising." " Master's Life." Mad- 
agascar Convert. Mountebank Preacher. Acknowledging 



C i ) N T E N T S . V 

PAGE 

the Wrong. German nationalist Convinced. " His Life a 
Sermon." French Hospital Matron. Swearing Pilot. The 
Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the < hurch. The Clerks 
and their Bibles. Mechanic and Lady. Responsibility for 
Influence. Presbyterian and his Store Boy. Thomas H. 
Benton's Mother. The Coachman's Mother. Consistency. 
The Unfaithful Cooper. The Irritated Professor. .John 
Churchman and Armed Vessels. Blessing on Cards, . . 40 

Chapter IV. — Obedience Essential. Secret Society. Use of 
Wine. First-day Train. Samuel Neale's Gunning. Wine 
Merchant. ■ Beer Saloon. The Clerk who could not Swear. 
James Kennedy. The Man who Would not Travel on First- 
day. Fruits of Disobedience. Resisting Conviction. Jane 
Pierce's Friend. John Churchman, .lob Scott. Joseph Hoag. 
Work of Regeneration. John Richardson. Job Scott. Samuel 
Neale. A Stratagem of Satan. Thomas Ellwood. John 
Griffith. John Thorp's Advice. James Naylor's Testimony. 
Source of Spiritual Knowledge. John Cowper. David Ferris. 
Thomas Story. "What will become of us?" Taulerus. 
Danger of Delays. Hannah Gibbons. Joseph Hoag. The 
Travelling Salesman. The Man Without Elope. A Neglected 
Duty. Elizabeth ( ollins 80 

PART II.— FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. . 
Chapter V. — Repentance. Confession. Restitution. Boy in 
a Store. Young Woman who had Stolen. Young Man who 
had Burnt a School-house. The Stray Sheep. Let him that 
Stole Steal no more. The Honest C oal Merchant. Dr. Johnson's 
Repentance. Dr. John Todd. The Tramp. Abraham Lin- 
coln's Honesty. The Boy who couldn't be Dishonest. The 
Robber and the Gold Watch. Self-Restraint. The Little 
Shoes did it. Warning in a Saloon. Samuel Bettle's Sermon. 
Edward Wright and the Drowning Boy. Plainness. Daniel 
Wheeler. John Richardson. Job Scott. God Does not Need 
These. Jacob Green and the Skeleton. Joseph Booth. The 
Early Methodists. She took up the Cross in all things. 
Michael Robson's Convincement. David Ferris. Samuel 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Neale. Unprofitable Amusement. Half an Hour to Live. 
Cardinal Mazarin. Playing Cards. Could not Give Up the 
"World. Dr. Johnson and David Garrick, . . . .121 

Chapter VI. — Love. Benevolence. The Kind Scotchman. 
Widow Green's "Wood. The Strong to Help the Weak. 
Genius for Helping. Abraham Lincoln and the Pig. A. Lin- 
coln and Cogdal. Joseph Rachel's Bond. Lending to the 
Lord. The Chicago Children. Boad Mending. Measuring 
Wood. Robert Moffat and the African "Woman. Dying for a 
Friend. Peace Making. Thomas H. Benton and John Wilson. 
Duke of Wellington on War. Humility. Keep Inward. 
Foreign Travel. Giving Up Religious Conviction. Watch- 
fulness. John Richardson. Abigail Bowles. Resist Temp- 
tation. The Banker's Clerk. The Backsliding Methodist. 
Submissiveness. The Child and the Cemetery. The Sick Son. 
Bounty Money.' Abraham and Richard Shackleton. Learning 
to Chew Crusts, 159 

PART III.— THE LORD'S CARE OVER HIS PEOPLE. 
Chatter VII. — Divine Help, Healing and Protection. Thomas 
Story and Drinking Healths. John Richardson Healed. 
Joseph Hoag and the Woman in Despair. Joseph Hoag's 
Injury. Endre Dahl Shipwrecked. The Highland Weaver. 
The Railroad Engineer. John Wesley's Prayer. Providential 
Preservation. Daniel Stanton in a Storm. Vessel on the ( 'oast 
of Norway. The Poor Schoolmaster. Unexpected Relief. 
The Honest Costermonger. The Conscientious Mechanic. 
Bishop Gobat and the Hyena. Catharine Phillips and the 
Hostile Fleet. The Convicted Colonel. The Uneasy Captain. 
Trusting in God. Support under Suffering. William Leddra. 
James Renwick. Dying Grace for Dying Hours. The Re- 
signed Cripple. " Couple Heaven with it." John Churchman 
in the Dead Timber. ( )ld Davids Weapons. Nicholas Wain. 
Thomas Story. Friends During Indian Wars, . . .196 

Chapter VIII.— Faith. William Bray. The Crippled Man. 
The Timid Slave. Abraham Lincoln's Trust in God. Emanci- 
pation Proclamation. The Doctor taken at his Word. Divine 



CONTENTS. Vll 

PAGE 

Guidance. David Sands and Remington Hobby. < leorge 

Withy's Impression to go Home. John Knox Saved f i 

being Shot. Matthew Warren's Wife. Elizabeth L. Redman 
and the Escaped Prisoner. Prepare for Death. A Lantern for 
the Footstep. Joseph Lybrandand his Stolen Child. Heal- 
ing a Breach. Thomas Waring. R. Bourdman Saved from 
Drowning. Dr. Guthrie and the Paralytic. Daily Bread. 
Widow Safford. (hanging Residence. John Richardson. 
Joseph Hoag. The Decayed Meeting-house. Joseph Hoag 
and the Slaveholders. Thomas Story and the Practice of 
Law. John Richardson and his Step-Father. Frederick 
Smith and his Wife, 231 

PART IV.— SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED BY 
THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST. 
Chapter IX. — Concern for Others. Restore thy Brother. 
John Churchman and his Drowsy Friend. William Baily. 
Elizabeth Bathurst. Job Scott. Christian Woman and her 
Drunken Brother. Joseph Hoag and the Elder. Reproof for 
Swearing. The Moorish King and the Sack of Earth. Fred- 
erick of Prussia and the Mill. James Naylor. Andrew Fuller. 
The Swiss Colporteur. Mary Swett. John Wesley and the 
Swearers. Satan's Book. A Box on the Ear. The Motion 
was in Himself. Bishop Simpson and Brother Swank. Illus- 
trations. The Two Mines. The Queen has sent for Him. 
Geraldine Hooper and the Dress. The Soldier who did not 
Intend to Fight. The Drowsy Committee Woman. The 
Remedy that Cures. John Churchman and the Watch. Food 
in Winter. The Potter's Care. The Polished Clam Shell. 
Rowland Hill and the Pigs. The Snuffers. The Pilot, . . 267 

Chapter X. — Prayer. Thomas Chalkley and the Privateer. 
The Religious Wife. Prayer for Bread. Ministry. Thomas 
Story and America. John Churchman and Great Britain. 
Job Scott's Prospect. Job Scott Shut Up. Willing to be Silent. 
Resolved to do Better. The Emptied Pitcher. Burning the 
Bad Bushel. . Waiting on the Lord. Robert Barclay's Testi- 
mony. Tennent's Extremity. The Norfolk Preacher. Women 
Preachers. Mary Collet. Mary Brantingham and the Poacher. 



Vlll CON T E X T S . 

PAGE 

George Withy and the Unitarian Minister. James Naylor's 
Preaching. The Trumpeter. Conscientiousness in Small 
Things. Thomas Willis. Elizabeth L. Redman and the Slave 
Dealer. " Ephraim is a Cake not Turned." " Quench Not the 
Spirit." How to Listen to Preaching. John Finch Marsh. 
Richard Jordan at Richmond. Barbara Everard. Job Scott's 
Care. Thomas Wilson. Isaac Penington, .... 295 

Chapter XI. — Ministry Continued. Prophetic Visions. John 
Richardson. Joseph Hoag. Peter Gardiner. Miles Halhead. 
John Roberts. Dr. Leifchild's Sermon. James Simpson's 
Sermons. James Simpson and the Deist. Maintenance of 
Ministers. Remarks of John Richardson. Of Thomas Story. 
Joseph Hoag's Experience. Industry. Daniel Stanton. John 
Parker. John Ranks. John Simpson. When to be Silent. 
Thomas Stiiry. Joseph Hoag. William Bray. John Church- 
man. Without Outward Information. Joseph Hoag. John 
Churchman. Communion of Spirits. Thomas Story. Robert 
Scotton and the Indian Woman. Richard Shackleton's Advice, 323 

Chapter XII. — Religious Meetings. Individual Labor. Drow- 
siness. George Withy. William Hunt. Grace at Table. 
John Richardson. David Ferris. Meat versus Bones. Dr. 
Manton's Sermon. Balaam's Ministry. Religious Opportu- 
nities. .John Richardson at Bermuda. Thomas Story at 
Bristol, t utbbert Featherstone. Sarah ( rrubb and Ann Baker. 
Joseph Oxley. Religious Controversy. Thomas Story and 
Dr. Gilpin. Thomas Story and a Priest. Job Scott and a 
Baptist Preacher. Isaac Penington. A Crooked Spirit. Reli- 
gious Conversation. William Lewis. Richard Shackleton. 
Tbe Two Merchants. The Teacher's Influence. . . . 354 

PART V. REWARDS OF FAITHFULNESS. 

Chapter XIII. — Joy. Hope. Peace. Job Scott. Thomas 
Wilson. Thomas Thompson. William Hornold. Thomas 
Camm. Samuel Bownas. A. F. Priscilla Richardson. Epi- 
demic in Philadelphia in 1699. John Fletcher. Peter Gar- 
diner. John Churchman. Death of a Skeptic. Mary Griffin. 
Comfort Collins 381 



PART I 



OPERATIONS OF DIVINE GRACE. 



CHAPTER I. 

Teaching of Divine Grace among Barbarous People. The Young Man 
of Feeble Intellect. Martha Routh when a child. The Friend of 
Bush River. Theodore Parker and the Water Turtle. John < Ihurch- 
man when Young. Job Scott's Early Impressions. Are we Chris- 
tians? The Boy that Died a Martyr. The Norwegian Boy. Tender- 
ness of Conscience in Children. Tempted to Buy a Cigar. William 
Williams and the Little Girl. The Child and the Tavern-keeper. 
The Boy in a Street Car. William Hone and his Daughter. Dr. Vin- 
ton and his Patient. Mary Capper's Experience. John Fothergill's 
Childish Oath. 

The great and blessed doctrine that our Saviour, who 
came into the world to redeem man from sin, visits the hearts 
of all by his Spirit, and shows unto them how they should 
walk to secure the Divine favor, so lies at the foundation of 
all practical religion, that it is illustrated by almost every 
incident of a religious nature ; and is thus being perpetually 
brought into notice. 

A few years ago, I was listening to the remarks of a friend, 
who told us of a conversation he had had many years before 
with a man in England, who was probably a sea-captain. 
He was speaking of barbarous people among whom he had 
travelled, among whom he said there was no trace of relig- 
ion at all. After some time, my friend asked him whether 



10 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

these degraded people seemed to know the difference be- 
tween actions, as to their being right or wrong— for exam- 
ple, between telling the truth and lying ; being honest and 
stealing, &c. "Oh, yes," said the Captain, "they know all 
about that." In their further conversation the question was 
put, as to how these people came to know the difference in 
the moral character of their acts? After a little thought, as 
if it were a subject new to his mind, the Captain replied, 
" It must be from the Divine Spirit, you know." 

It was interesting to observe the testimony thus borne to 
die truth of the Apostle's declaration, that " The Grace of 
God, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared unto all 
men :" and teaches them to " live soberly, righteously and 
Godly." This teaching is often present and effective in the 
minds of those who might be supposed almost incapable of 
appreciating it, from want of mental development ; and 
who are quite unable to form any clear intellectual concep- 
tion of many points of theological dogma. As an instance 
of this, may lie mentioned the ease of a young man of feeble 
intellect, who desired to become a member of a religious 
body in New England. He presented himself to the church 
committee. The first question put to him was: 

" Do you understand the doctrine of the Trinity ?" 

" No ; I can't say I do." 

" Can you give the committee a definition of regeneration ?" 

" I don't think I can." 

" Well, what do you understand by foreordination ?" 

" Take plenty of time to answer," said a kind-hearted 
old deacon, thinking the candidate was confused. 

" I don't know much about it," said the young man. 

" Can't you give us some opinion respecting God's decrees?" 

" I'm afraid not," he replied. 

"Well, then," said the minister, a little impatiently, " what 
do you know?" 

Promptly came the answer, " I know that I am a sinner, 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 11 

and I know that Christ died to save me, and I want to join 
the church to get more help from Christ and his people." 

Every member of that committee felt rebuked, and one 
of them said afterwards, " I learned from that moment to 
respect the spiritual knowledge of the humblest man or 
woman, and not to think so much of that knowledge which 
comes from the head alone." 

Those quite young in years are often made sensible of the 
visitations of the Grace of God, showing them those things 
in their conduct which are displeasing to their Heavenly 
Father, and awakening a sincere desire to become his obe- 
dient children. 

It is related of Martha Routh,* a ministering Friend of 
England, who visited America near the beginning of the 
present century, that being placed at a day-school where 
she had not much of the company of other Friends' children, 
she deviated from the simplicity of language inculcated by 
her parents at home. Sometime afterwards, two Friends, 
ministers, came to visit the families of the meeting to which 
she belonged : " At which" she says, " I greatly rejoiced, 
though I did not expect to be so found out and melted 
down under that ministry as proved to be the case. After 
reminding us who were children, of the example of our 
parents, how carefully Ave had been brought up, and the 
steady attention manifested in the discharge of their duty, 
that we might act consistently with the principles of Truth ; 
they said, ' What a loss and pity it would be, if any of us 
should deviate therefrom when out of the sight of our 
parents, in not using the plain language' — which I well 
knew was my own case. I seemed like one broken to pieces, 
and could scarcely forbear weeping aloud. 

" As soon as I could get to my cousin Mary Beadley — 
who had learned to write before me— I got her to write me 
a letter, which I directed to a scholar to whom I was much 

*Martha Routh was born in Worcestershire, England, in 1743, and 
died at London in 1817. She was a fervent laborer in the ministry of 
the Gospel; and visited America in that service in 1794, and again in 
1801. See Memoir in Friends' Library, vol. 12, p. 413, etc. 



12 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

attached, expressing a hope that she would not be offended 
that I could not any longer give her the title of ' Miss,' but 
must call her by her proper name, as well as the other girls, 
though I should love them no less but rather better, because 
I knew it was acting contrary to the mind of my parents, 
and the way in which Friends spoke to one another. 

" When I went to school again on Second-day morning 
following, it was under as much weightiness of spirit as 
mind or body could well bear ; but going early, few were in 
the school, and I took my seat close to that of my governess, 
whom I loved much. When she came in, she spoke to me 
in her usual kind way, as did the other girls, and took no 
notice of my change of language or more serious deport- 
ment." 

A writer in " The Journal" of Philadelphia, who was 
born a member of the Society of Friends, in the limits of 
Bush River Meeting in South Carolina, in giving some 
reminiscences of his early life, relates the following inci- 
dent : — 

" I remember about this time being left in the nursery 
by my parents under the care of the housekeeper on a First- 
day afternoon, whilst they made a social call, when my 
choleric temper was soon quite aroused by having my child- 
ish privileges curtailed, as I thought, by my brother and 
sister. I immediately retired in disgust to the kitchen to 
vent my angry feelings in a boyish pout, but in this state, 
I heard a still small voice saying, ' Now this is all wrong ; 
go right back to thy brother and sister, overcome this angry 
feeling, and enjoy thyself in their company and their inno- 
cent sports and plays.' Then I immediately, like Paul, 
conferred not with flesh and blood, but obeyed the injunc- 
tion. O, the sweet peace that accompanied it. Nothing 
since has ever surpassed its serenity and heavenly enjoy- 
ment, easing every burthen, and making all things light, 
not only for that afternoon, but through all my boyish 
labor of the following day. This peace of mind was after- 
wards lost by boyish unfaithfulness." 



INCIDENTS AND 11 E E L E C T I N S . 18 

The remark that the peace of mind which followed sub- 
mission to the Divine command was afterwards lost by 
unfaithfulness, is alas, a too common experience of poor, 
frail man. There can be no advance in our heavenly jour- 
ney, nor any of that sweet comfort which attends a sense of 
the Lord's approval, without filial obedience to what He 
requires of us — without seeking in all things to know the 
Divine will, and to be conformed thereto. 

Theodore Parker* relates an instructive incident that 
occurred to him in his childhood. 

"I saw a little spotted turtle," he writes, "sunning itself 
in the shallow water. I lifted the stick in my hand to kill 
it ; for though I had never killed any creature, yet I had 
seen other boys, out of sport, destroy birds, squirrels and 
the like, and I had a disposition to follow their example. 
But all at once something checked my little arm, and a 
voice within me said, clear and loud, ' It is wrong.' I 
held my uplifted stick in wonder at the new emotion, till 
the turtle vanished from sight. 

" I hastened home and told the tale to my mother, and 
asked what it was that told me it was wrong. She wiped a 
tear from her eye, and taking me in her arms, said, ' Some 
men call it conscience, but I prefer to call it the voice of 
God in the soul of man. If you listen and obey it, it will 
speak clearer and clearer, and always guide you right ; but 
if you turn a deaf ear or disobey, then it will fade out little 
by little, and leave you in the dark without a guide. Your 
life my son depends on heeding that little voice.' " 

There are many witnesses to the truth, that the Grace of 
God which bringeth salvation, which is the Spirit of Christ 
our Redeemer shining in the heart, visits the minds of 
young children, causing them to fear their Creator, and 
pointing out what they must do and leave undone. And 

* A Unitarian minister, and a voluminous writer on theological and 
literary subjects. Born at Lexington, Massachusetts in 1812; died at 
Florence, Italy, in 1860. 
2 



14 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

there are few things that bring more true pleasure to the 
heart of the sincere Christian, than to see those young in 
years bending their necks to the yoke of Christ ; and be- 
coming followers of the Saviour. He can rejoice over such, 
because he knows they have entered on the only path in life 
which leads to pure and unmixed felicity. It is sweet indeed 
to trace the dealings of the Lord with those who yield their 
hearts to Him in early life. Such are often made a blessing 
to others in a far higher degree than they themselves can 
know. 

John Churchman* thus relates his experience : " I early 
felt reproof for bad words and actions, yet knew not whence 
it came, until about the age of eight years, as I sat in a small 
meeting, the Lord by his heavenly love and goodness, over- 
came and tendered my heart, and by his glorious light dis- 
covered to me the knoAvledge of Himself. I saw myself and 
what I had been doing, and what it was which had reproved 
me for evil ; and was made in the secret of my heart to confess 
that childhood and youth, and the foolish actions and words 
to which they are propense, are truly vanity. Yet blessed 
forever be the name of the Lord ! in his infinite mercy and 
goodness, He clearly informed me, that if I would mind the 
discoveries of his pure light for the future, what I had done 
in the time of my ignorance, He would wink at and forgive : 
and the stream of love which filled my heart with solid joy 
at that time, and lasted for many days, is beyond all expres- 
sion. 

Job Scottf says : " I can well remember the serious im- 
pressions and contemplations which, at that early period of 

*Born in Nottingham, Pennsylvania, in 1705; died 1775. He travelled 
extensively as a minister in America; and in 17.50 crossed the ocean 
and labored in the service of the Gospel lor more than lour years in 
> ireat Britain, Ireland and Holland. See Journal in Friends' Library, 
vol. (i, p. 176, etc. 

tBornat Providence, Rhode Island, in 1751; deceased at Ballitore, 
Ireland, while on a religious visit to that country in 1793. A deeply 
spiritual minister of the Gospel. For an account of his travels in 
America and Great Britain, see published Journal. 



INCIDENT S A N I) R E P L B C T I N S . , 15 

life, [ten years of age] and for some years before my mother's 
decease, attended my mind, as I sat in meeting with her, 
and on my way home. I even had longing desires to become 
truly religious and to serve and fear God, as Abraham, Isaac 
and Jacob did, and others that I read or heard of. 

" I am fully persuaded of the great advantage, and spiritual 
usefulness to children and others, resulting from frequent 
silent waiting on the Lord. I have seen lively and con- 
vincing evidence of it, even in children very young in years ; 
and fully believe the impressions of Divine goodness have 
been such to their minds at some such seasons, even when 
there has not been a word uttered vocally, as have lastingly 
remained and powerfully tended to beget the true fear and 
love of God in their young and tender hearts. And oh ! 
that parents were more generally concerned to do all they 
could towards leading their tender offspring into an early 
acquaintance with, and relish of Divine things ; best learned, 
and most livingly and experimentally sealed upon the soul, 
in a state of silent introversion, and feeling after God. 

" Almost as early as I can remember anything, I can well 
remember the Lord's secret workings in my heart, by his 
grace or Holy Spirit ; very sensibly bringing me under con- 
demnation for my evil thoughts and actions, rudeness and 
bad words, (though not frequent in the use of them) ; dis- 
obedience to parents; inwardly wishing, in moments of 
anger, some evil to such as offended me; and such like 
childish and corrupt dispositions and practices ; which over 
and beyond all outward instruction I was made sensible 
were evil, and sprang from a real root of evil in me." 

Anna Shipton* relates that when travelling in Italy, she 
stopped at a large hotel. She says: "Great was my as- 
tonishment in the evening when I descended to the table 
d'hote, to find a small table spread for me alone in a large 
and magnificent saloon lighted by one solitary lamp and 
warmed by the faint flame of a wood-fire recently ignited. 

" The rain poured in torrents ; the wind howled through 

*An English writer, the author of several small books of a religious 
nature. 



16 - INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

the long corridors, and echoed through the solitary saloon 
with its fresco paintings and gorgeous decorations. 

" At the close of my dinner, a lady in deep mourning, en- 
veloped in a mantle and shawl entered the room. Supposing 
from her appearance that she had just arrived in that 
tempestuous weather, I hastened to offer her the seat I had 
occupied, and stirred the pine wood into a cheerful blaze. 

" As the pale face of the stranger became lighted up by the 
kindling flame, I was struck by the deep dejection of her 
countenance, that told of some recent sorrow. 

" She was lately a widow, and now mourning an only child, 
a fair, promising daughter of seventeen, in the dawn of life's 
morning given to God. She had returned for the last time 
from the seminary where her education was completed, and 
the still youthful mother welcomed her companionship, to 
be no more interrupted ; both had awaited this day with 
impatience. 

" On the first evening of her return, with her arm clasped 
around the waist of her mother, and her blooming face 
pillowed on her breast, the young daughter told forth her 
happiness. And then there was a long pause, as if some 
perplexing thought had entered her mind and shadowed 
the face that seemed to have known no cloud of care ; and 
then she said slowly, 

" ' Mother ! Are we Christians ?' 

" ' Yes,' replied the widow, a little startled at the earnest 
tone of the question, ' Christians ! Yes, I hope so !' 

" ' Then,' continued the daughter, ' we do not live like 
Christians. We are just like other people. We take the 
same amusements, do the same things. If we are Christians, 
should we not live for Christ ?' 

" These words from the lips of her child, who had never 
known the trials and sorrows of her own life, awakened in 
the mother new views of a future, which she had imagined 
was to be one of social enjoyment and cultivated talents. 
Mother and daughter took counsel together how Christians 
could serve Christ, and both personally desired to know 
how this new life could be lived. 

" They had not long to wait to know the way of God more 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 17 

perfectly. Fever broke out in the neighborhood, and the 
widow's only child was one of the hr.st to sicken and fade. 

" It was the messenger of the Lord to prepare the way 
before Him. Six long, anxious weeks oi hope and fear 
passed by for the mother, marked by an amount of heaven- 
taught wisdom in the child that I never before traced in 
one of her years, — so much of the trial and temptation more 
common to riper age was comprised in her experience. 
The Lord was moulding and maturing the young spirit for 
its eternal home. 

" 'I only wish to live to serve Christ !' was the expression 
on her lips, whenever a dawn of hope brightened the heart 
of those who watched beside her. And the Lord heard it. 

" A lady left her own family of five children to help the 
mother to nurse her only child ; and when remonstrated 
with on the danger and cruelty of incurring the risk of 
infection to her children, she meekly replied that she had 
obeyed the Lord in coming, and she trusted her children to 
his care, who bade her leave all to Him. Her family and 
herself were preserved from the fever. The words and ex- 
ample of this young disciple, ' whom Jesus loved,' were 
made instrumental in the religious awakening of the eldest 
son of her nurse and of several other persons. 

" A physician of great eminence, who was also a friend of 
her family, was called in to see her. She inquired of him 
if he thought she would recover. He replied that most 
assuredly she would. On which she reproved him with a 
sternness which startled him, telling him that he knew the 
falsehood that he had spoken ; and with a power and clear- 
ness that came from the Holy Spirit's teaching alone, she 
set before him the Saviour whom he rejected, and the wis- 
dom and power of God which he despised. 

" During these six weeks this girl of seventeen, Avith so 
little [outward] instruction in the things of God but with a 
heart that longed to serve Him, lay down upon a bed of 
fever and suffering to accomplish the desire of her heart in 
ways she knew not ; and died to live with and serve Christ 
forever, where neither tears nor death can come." 

It is interesting to' note the manner in which vouna; 



18 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

persons are sometimes visited by the Day-spring from on 
High, and the effect produced on their susceptible minds 
by the company and appearance of those who are endea- 
voring to walk in the footsteps of Christ's flock. 

When Richard Mott* was on one occasion travelling in 
western Pennsylvania he stopped at a public house. A boy 
there seemed particularly impressed with his appearance, 
and asked him why he dressed plain. Continuing near 
him, he asked many questions about the Quakers, and 
finally told him that he wanted to go and live with him, 
and be a Quaker. As Richard was then going from home, 
he could not comply with the boy's request. Sometime 
afterwards being at the same place, he asked the landlord 
if he could tell him about that boy. The landlord replied, 
" he died a Quaker and a martyr." 

From the day after his conversation with Richard, he 
had never been known to use the plural language to one 
person. He had also had a plain suit of clothes made which 
he wore. These things exposed him to great ridicule and 
persecution by his school-fellows. One day some of them 
seemed determined to make him fight, which he positively 
refused to do. One of them, in order to provoke him into 
a fight, flourished his fist in his face, and without intending 
to injure him, struck him on the head. The lad fell down 
dead ! Thus the testimony was left behind him, that he 
died a Quaker and a martyr, f 

When travelling in Iowa some years ago, I met with a 
Norwegian who had joined in membership with Friends 
after coming to this country. He attributed the first turn- 
ing of his mind in that direction to the impression made 
upon him when a boy of perhaps six years old, by the visit 

* A minister among Friends who resided at Mamaroneek, New York. 
Died in 1856, aged eighty-nine years. He paid a religious visit to the 
Southern and Western States in 1805 and 1806, at whieh time it is pro- 
bable the incident related in the text occurred 

t Although true religion leads to plainness and simplicity in dress 
and behavior, yet these do not constitute religion, which is the work 
of Divine grace in the heart of man. 



INCIDENTS AN D 11 E F L E C T I I » N 8 . 1 ! I 

of some Friends to his father's house. He was eager to see 
them, but was not permitted to go into the parlor, probably 
because he was too ragged or dirty. But he contrived to 
gratify his curiosity. Their solid behavior and appearance 
so affected him that the impression never wore away. 

As illustrations of the tenderness of conscience produced 
by the work of the Spirit, and of the early age at which it 
is manifested, the two following cases may be cited : 

A beloved child who was ill of a mortal disease, spoke to 
his mother desiring her forgiveness. She could not recollect 
that her boy had ever offended her. But he replied, that 
although he might have performed what she commanded 
him, yet he had not obeyed with that willingness which he 
ought to have felt. His shortcoming in this respect caused 
him uneasiness. Another child, not yet three years old, ill 
with small-pox, made use of some angry and improper ex- 
pression to a person who attended it; but soon felt the 
reproofs of conscience for the offence. It acknowledged the 
fault to its mother, and when the attendant again entered 
the room stretched out its little arms in token of desire to 
be reconciled. 

I knew well a man, who, when a boy of six or seven 
years of age, was tempted to imitate other boys whom he 
saw smoking. So he asked his father for a penny, not 
without many smitings of conscience at the use to which 
he intended to put it, and some fears lest his father should 
inquire about the purpose for which it was intended. The 
penny was given without any questions being asked, and 
the child went at once to the nearest cigar store, for he 
felt as impatient as he was unhappy about getting the 
cigar. The woman who tended the shop gave him what he 
asked for, and turned about to go to her work. Under 
conviction that he was doing wrong, the child said to her, 
"Does thee think I had better take this?" She replied, 



20 INC] D B X T S A X D REFLECTIO X S . 

" Did'nt you ask for it '? " " Yes, but does thee think I had 
better take it ? " She replied that she thought it was worth 
the money ; but as he took hold of the door-knob to go out, 
he again queried, " Does thee think it is right for me to take 
it?" She asked if he had ever smoked any, and finding he 
had not, told him it would make him sick, and she could 
not advise him to begin. So there was a second exchange 
of money and cigar ; and the child, who had been struggling 
•with the convictions of grace and dallying with temptation, 
felt a measure of that peace and joy which is graciously 
given to those who yield themselves to the Divine will ; 
and he went out of the cigar store far happier than he 
entered. 

The journal of William AVilliams,* a minister in the 
Society of Friends, who resided in Tennessee, contains the 
following interesting incident: 

I think proper to relate here, also, a singular circum- 
stance concerning a little girl,f whose father rode sometime 
with me, when I was first in the State of New Jersey, and at 
whose house I lodged the night before 1 left that State to 
go to New York. The child was then under eight years of 
age. I had a sitting in the family, which was a watering 
time, for the presence of the Master was to be felt, and the 
dear little daughter (as well as I remember, the youngest of 
a large family) was tendered, and felt her mind much 
attached to me in tender love, which I was sensible of at 
that time. This was in the Fifth Month, 1811, and as I 
returned from the eastward in the Sixth Month, I sent for 
some linens which I had left there, and when I opened 

* William Williams was born in North Carolina about the year 1763, 
removed from thence to Tennessee, and finally to Indiana, M T here he 
died in 1824. He labored extensively as a minister of the Gospel. 

fThe name of this child was Mary Black. At the time of her death, 
she was not quite seven years old. Her father, who travelled consider- 
ably in New Jersey in company with William Williams, resided near 
Columbus, New Jersey. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 21 

them, I found a small present from this child to my little 
daughter at home, whom I had told her of. On the 8th 
clay of the Second Month, 1813, I left home again, and in 
the course of this visit also, I got to her father's house ; and 
when I got there, I soon looked for the little daughter, but 
saw her not. I then asked for her, and saw the tears start 
in the eyes of her mother at the hearing of her name. We 
sat awhile in solemn silence, and I spoke and said, " is the 
child gone to rest? " she said " she has ; " and then told me 
about her latter end, which I thought I would then write ; 
but I put it off at that time, yet it made so deep impressions 
on my mind, that it could not be erased. The child was 
taken sick, and in a little time afterwards she told her 
mother that she should not live to get well again, but should 
die ; and her mother asked her if she was willing to die. 
She said there was but one thing that she wanted ; that was 
to see that friend who was from Tennessee ; " if I could only 
see him once more, and hear him, I should be willing then 
to go to my Heavenly Father, and leave all my dear 
friends behind;" and thus she continued for many days, 
often saying, ' O Heavenly Father ! I am willing to die, and 
come to thee, yet I wish to see that endeared friend, and 
hear him preach to my father and mother, and to my 
brothers and sisters, if it is thy holy will, O Lord ! but not 
my will be done." And one day, as her mother was sitting 
by her bed with another friend, Mary lay still, as though 
she was asleep or in a doze, for an hour or more ; then she 
stirred, and her mother asked her if she wanted any thing, 
(meaning drink or any refreshment) she said no, she wanted 
nothing, but to die ; and added, " I have wanted to see dear 
William Williams, but I shall not see him, but shall die : 
you will see him." " O, no, Mary," her mother said, " he 
lives a great way from here." " No matter for that, he is 
on his way now, and in time he will be here, in this land, 
and thou wilt see him and hear him ; and then give my 
love to him, and tell him, I go to my Father, and his 
Father, there to wait for his coming." So, on the next day, 
she quietly departed this life, when I was in Virginia, on 
my way to those parts. 



22 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

It sometimes pleases the Lord to make use of young and 
feeble instruments to awaken those who are older to a sense 
of their situation, or to perform other services. In such 
cases, the effect produced depends on the power of Divine 
Grace which accompanies the message or service, and which 
brings conviction to the one to whom it is addressed ; and 
this Grace may be extended through weak agents, who, 
without its assistance would have no power to effect any 
good. 

In my school-boy days, I knew a little boy, the son of one 
of my teachers,* who died at an early age perhaps eight or 
nine years. He was a thoughtful child, and one day asked 
permission of his mother to visit a neighbor who kept a 
house of entertainment for travellers, and sold spirituous 
liquors to such as wanted them. He was a man of wealth 
and respectability, and the owner of a large landed property, 
and his house was one that was regarded as reputably kept ; 
I never heard of anything like carousing or disorderly con- 
duct being permitted about the premises. The mother 
discouraged her child from making the visit, thinking one 
so young would not be able to accomplish any good. But 
the impression of duty was so imprinted or renewed on his 
young mind, that the request for permission to go was 
repeated at intervals, until the mother was unwilling longer 
to prevent the visit. Accordingly the child went alone. It 
would be interesting to know what took place at the inter- 
view which followed, but there was probably no one present 
but themselves, and it is not known. But I believe it was 
not long after that the proprietor discontinued the sale of 
liquor. 

I recently met with a narrative which brought the above 

*The late Daniel B. Smith, of Germantown, Philadelphia, then a 
teacher at Haverford School, now College, 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 23 

incident to my recollection. The writer of it. was riding in 
a street car in one of our cities, when there entered a man 
about seventy years of age. 

He says : " I noticed that he walked unsteadily, but 
thought it due to the motion of the car. His actions after 
he was seated, however, convinced me that he was intoxica- 
ted. By my side sat a little boy, aged about eight years ; he, 
with his father, and the old gentleman, before mentioned, 
and myself, constituted the sole occupants of the car. I 
remarked, that after a few moments close scrutiny of the 
old gentleman by the boy, he addressed his father. I could 
hear but imperfectly what he said, but 1 distinguished a 
'Please, papa, let me speak to him.' The father answered, 
'No, my boy, he will not understand what you say.' Still 
the boy pleaded, and finally 1 saw him go to the side of the 
old gentleman. Laying his little hand on the old man's 
knee, the boy said, 'Please, sir, I am sorry for you.' The 
half stupid man raised his head and said, ' Eh ! what did 
you say?' The boy repeated his first remark and added: 
' I know what is the matter with you, for I have seen a 
great many who had been drinking ; but I know how you 
can stop, and I am sure you want to know too.' ' How,' 
answered his hearer.' ' Pray,' answered the boy. ' Mamma 
has told me whenever I felt tempted to do wrong to pray, 
and God would help me by taking the temptation away : 
and I know He does help me, for many a time when I have 
wanted some fruit I have prayed, and God always made it 
easy for me not to take any. You see,' said the boy in 
explanation, 'I was very sick a year ago and the doctor 
thought I would' die ; but I got well, and the only way I 
can keep well is not to eat fruit, Now, if you would pray 
I don't believe you would want rum. I know you have 
friends who hate to have you sick as much as my friends 
do me ; so won't you try and keep well ? I am going to pray 
for you, anyway.' " 

" I did not hear this, but the gentleman told me after- 
wards what the youthful preacher had said. What I saw, 
however, was this : tears streaming clown the face of the old 
man opposite, and I heard him say, 'Pray ! yes, I will, and 



24 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

you must pray for me.' The little boy, under the guidance 
of the Spirit, had wrought a good work." 

The writer adds, that since that time he had seen the 
man exposed to great temptation, but that he had never 
fallen into the ensnaring habit. His safety resulted from 
looking to the Lord for help to overcome the sin that so 
easily beset him. His feelings towards the lad who spoke 
the " word in due season" are thus indicated : " He is beloved, 
and I have heard a white-haired gentleman, with a voice 
tremulous with emotion, say : ' And a little child shall lead 
them.' " 

William Hone,* the author of the " Every-day Book," 
Avas at one time a noted infidel and an active opposer of 
Christianity. A little girl of his, coming under the saving 
influence of truth, became much concerned for her father, 
and obtained a Bible, but knew not how to put it into his 
hands, for she feared his displeasure. She retired to seek 
Divine guidance. Her father, passing the door of the apart- 
ment, heard the voice of his child ; it was the voice of prayer ; 
she prayed for him ; he became affected, agitated and dis- 
tressed. After a little while the family assembled at the tea- 
table, the beverage was handed round, but he could not 
partake. " Is there a Bible in the house ?" he said. " My 
dear," replied his wife, apprehensive of the proposed repeti- 
tion of the act, " did you not burn every Bible that we had, 
not leaving so much as one ?" " Is there any good book 
then ?" he inquired. His little daughter, thinking that God 
might be answering her prayer, arose, took him by the 
hand, and asked him to go with her, and when they had 
left the room, looking into his face, said, " Father, surely 
you won't be angry with me ; I know you won't be angry 
with me ; come with me and I will get you one," and she 
brought him and gave him the Bible which for this very 
purpose she had procured. 

*Died in 1S42, aged sixty-three years. He was a native of Bath, 
England, and for many years a publisher and bookseller in London. 
He was the author of many political pieces and other works, of which 
The Every Day Book is the most valued. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 25 

t 

He felt deeply, and, trembling while he handed it hack 
to her, said, " My child, I cannot read this book ; will you 
read it for me?" She did so, and then taking her in his 
arms he kissed her and said, " Tell me, my child, where did 
you get this book, and how did you obtain this knowledge 
of it?" She told him all. That very evening he accompa- 
nied her to the chapel. As they entered the minister was 
engaged in prayer ; his manner and address made a power- 
ful impression on the father's mind, for he seemed to talk 
with God. The sermon aided in deepening the impression. 
It was an interesting sight when, two or three weeks after- 
ward, that father appeared in that chapel with his wife 
and nine children, and openly renounced his infidelity. 

It is related of Dr. Vinton, that when a young skeptical 
physician, a friend persuaded him to read " Butler's Analo- 
gy." This book satisfied his reason. Intellectually he was 
no longer a sceptic. Things stood thus with him when he 
was called to attend a little girl dying of consumption. 
Lying on her sick bed, she whispered she had something to 
say to him ; and when encouraged to speak, said she had 
not the courage, but confessed that it would relate to his 
being at peace with God. " To-morrow morning," she added, 
" when I am stronger, I will tell you." And to-morroiv 
morning she was dead. The incident made a permanent 
impression on Dr. Vinton. He could not cease to ask him- 
self what that little girl would have said to him on that 
matter. He framed one thing after another, and thus 
called up before his conscience the persuasions he himself 
invented for the little girl. He became a pious man. 

Mary Capper* relates the following incident, which shows 
that the Spirit of Christ operates on the minds of children 
in very early life. 

"One occasion, I think I cannot forget, because it is 
sealed by mercy and by experience to this day ; though 
the thing was, in itself, comparatively little, and I was then 

* A minister in the Society of Friends. She died at Birmingham, 
England, in 1S45, in the ninety-first year of her age. Sec Memoir in 
Friends Library, vol. 12, p. 1, etc. 



26 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

young. Being tempted to take some fruit in a garden 
where I was unobserved, and being on the point of gather- 
ing it, a sudden check arrested me. I cannot distinctly 
describe it, but I walked from the spot with a sweetness of 
inward peace, indescribable, such as I think I had never 
before known ; and it arose in my heart and has remained 
in my understanding, this is the teaching of the Grace of 
God ; or, in other words, of the Holy Spirit ! This, we had 
been taught to believe, would enable us to overcome evil ; 
but it is not sufficiently understood ; and when gently devel- 
oped in the still, small voice, it is frequently not obeyed ; 
and the quick sense of its secret monitions becomes less dis- 
cernible." 

In John Fothergill's Life* occurs the following passage : 
" When I was between six and seven years old, as near as 
I can recollect, bein? at some little play with another boy, 
through the force of a sudden temptation, I swore an oath, 
which notwithstanding it was to a truth, yet such secret 
conviction of the evil of so doing in the sight of the Almighty 
God, so affected my mind with sorrow and remorse, as made 
a lasting impression on my judgment; and also imprinted 
that warning and fear in my heart in this respect that I 
never did the like since on any occasion. 

" Wherefore as I cannot but believe that the pure law of 
God, which is light, makes its appearance against evil in 
all, and often in tender years ; so if a careful regard were 
yielded in youth to this inshining of the day of God in 
secret, many evil practices and defiling liberties would be 
prevented, and would never get that room in the mind, and 
in use, which with sorrow we too often observe they do." 

The preceding incidents and testimonies show that the 
Holy Light of Jesus impresses a sense of right and of wrong 
on the mind ; and brings those who disregard it under a 
sense of condemnation. This accords with the testimony 

*A faithful minister in the Society of Friends, residing in York- 
shire, England, where he died in 1744, aged sixty-nine years. He 
thrice visited America in the service of the Gospel. See Life in 
Friends' Library, vol. 13, p. 352, etc. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 27 

of the Apostle John, that He who was in the beginning, 
and who " was made flesh and dwelt among ns," " was the 
true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the 
world." And with the declaration of our Saviour himself, 
that " This is the condemnation, that light is come into the 
world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because 
their deeds were evil." In the following pages, illustrations 
will be produced of the blessed truth, that to as many as 
receive Christ in the way of his coming to their souls, and 
believe in and obey his commands, He still gives power 
to become the sons of God. 



CHAPTER II. 

Converting Power of Divine Grace. The College Student. Mary M . 

The young German Baptist. John Flavel's Message. E. Worth's 
Neighbor. Daniel Stanton's Experience. The Scotch Virago He- 
formed. Edward Wright's Awakening. Special Seasons of Visita- 
tion. 

The poet Cowper forcibly expressed a most important 
truth when he wrote : 

"Transformation of Apostate man 
From fool to wise, from earthly to divine, 
Is work for Him that made him." 

This transformation is the same thing as the experience 
of that regeneration, without which, as our Saviour told 
Nicodemus, a man " cannot see the kingdom of God." This 
is effected through the renewed visitations of the Holy Spirit, 
or Grace of God, mercifully given to lead man from sin and 
misery to purity and happiness. 

Our Saviour said there is more joy in heaven over one 
sinner that repenteth than over ninety and nine just persons 
who need no repentance. No wonder, then, that the ac- 



28 INCIDENTS A N I) R E FLECTIONS. 

counts of the conversion of sinners, and of the various 
means used by Divine Grace to arrest their attention, and 
turn them from darkness to light, should be of ever-fresh 
interest to the lovers of the Lord Jesus. A few of these 
narratives are here grouped together. 

The Episcopal Recorder relates the case of a young man 
at a college, where a deep interest in religion had been 
awakened among the students. He had left the breakfast- 
hall, and stood upon the steps of the building, gazing 
thoughtfully on the scene before him. It was early in 
summer; the college grounds were covered with their richest 
verdure, and the leafy tresses of the overshadowing elms 
hung motionless in the balmy atmosphere. One by one the 
students were passing to their rooms, exchanging with each 
other here and there a morning greeting, but mostly silent, 
as if feeling the awe of an invisible Presence resting upon 
all hearts. 

The person spoken of was struck with this peculiar aspect 
of stillness and solemnity. For several weeks the Spirit of 
God had been working there. Many were deeply impressed ; 
some seeking to resist their convictions by affected levity, 
others borne down by them as by an insupportable burden. 

Young 8 had been trained by pious parents, and was 

irreproachable in principles and habits. But he was not a 
Christian. The visible solemnity which rested upon the 
college excited his attention, and pressed that fact with un- 
wonted force upon his heart. The thought of the venerated 
father and saintly mother, who, he knew, prayed for him 
daily with unutterable desire, rushed as never before upon 
his mind. Suddenly the inquiry sprung up within him, 
"Why should I not be a Christian, too? Often have I 
promised myself that I would attend to this subject. Is not 
this the time? Why not now?" 

He descended the steps of the breakfast-hall, and slowly 
sauntered to his room. The inquiry rung in his ear, Why 
not? He entered his room and seated himself for study. 
But he hesitated. A silent voice within disquieted him : 
the thought of God, of eternity, of his own guilt and need 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 29 

of salvation, pressed upon him with unwonted force, and 
urged him to defer the momentous decision no longer. 

"What," thought he at length, "is it to be a Christian? 
How shall I beg hi t " 

" To be a Christian," he said, u is to love Cod, and to live 
to please Him. This I know 1 have not done. I have been 
a diligent student, but it was because I was interested in my 
studies, and was ambitious to excel. I have come to college 
in hope of fitting myself for distinction in life. Alas! I 
have not thought of God in all this ; I have not cared to 
please Him; I have not asked his will. This was all wrong. 
Of course, therefore, if I would be a Christian, I must en- 
tirely change my life in this respect. I must begin to act 
as God would have me; / must begin, by doing the first 
thing I have to do, to please Him. This lesson," laying his 
hand on his book, "is to be learned from regard to Him ; 
this day, in all its duties and occupations, is to be given to 
his service ; my college training is to be made preparatory 
to a life devoted to his glory. And so I am to give myself 
to Him — my soul, my body, my talents, my acquisitions, 
my all." 

" Yes," said he, after some moments of profound thought, 
" I will. First, I will kneel down and say so to Him, and 
ask his aid and his blessing." He did so. Had his resolve 
stopped at that first act, it would have been of little worth. 
As related by himself to the writer of the narrative, it was 
the turning-point in his course, from which he dated the 
commencement of his religious life. He then entered the 
school of Christ, and receiving humbly the first of its lessons, 
was prepared by it for others in due time until he attained 
a well-balanced and most devoted piety. 

It was the Light of Christ — the Spirit of his Saviour — 
which enabled this young man to see that he was not living 
in the fear of God ; and, as he turned to its reproofs, gave 
him power to form the holy resolution to devote himself 
wholly to the Lord's cause. This enabling power will never 
be wanting to him who in sincerity seeks it. For, as Wm. 
Penn says : " Never did God convince people, but, upon 
3* 



30 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

submission, He impowered them." " They that want power 
are such as don't receive Christ in his convictions upon the 
soul ; and such will always want it ; but such as do [receive 
Christ] they receive power (like those of old) to become the 
children of God." 

A writer in the American Messenger describes the religious 

awakening of a young woman, Mary M , in one of our 

New England towns. She had been piously brought up, 
but had married into an irreligious family and had drifted 
away from her early associations, until she seemed to have 
no concern left about her spiritual welfare. A younger 
brother of her husband, named Edwin, lived with them, and 
out of curiosity he attended a religious meeting, where a 
deeper feeling was awakened in his mind. On the next 
occasion he asked Mary to accompany him. She laughingly 
objected ; but consented at the suggestion of a young friend 
who was visiting them, that they might at least derive some 
amusement from going. 

On their return the young women noticed that Edwin 
seemed sad, and they determined, if possible, to erase all 
serious impressions from his mind. So they jested about the 
meeting and the preacher, and religious meetings in general, 
and at length Mary laughingly said, " Now let us have a 
prayer meeting ; brother Edwin will ' please pray with us." 

Edwin before this had sat silent and thoughtful, but now 
he aroused himself, and gravely replied, " Yes, let us pray, 
for we all need help from above ; " and to the surprise of 
the others he kneeled and poured out his soul to God. 

When he began, Mary was more angry than ever before 
in her life, but when he prayed for her, that " ( rod would 
forgive her for sporting with religious things, and bring her 
to himself," she began to feel alarmed, and when the prayer 
was concluded she was shedding tears which she vainly 
strove to hide. 

She hastened to her room with feelings far different from 
those when she left it. Her sins rose up to condemn her, 
and she spent the night in great agony of mind. The con- 
viction of her sinfulness, thus remarkably fastened upon her 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 31 

mind, worked its proper effect in leading her to repentance 

and amendment of life ; and her fervent petitions to the 
Lord for mercy, were, in due time, answered by a sense of 
forgiveness of the sins that were past. 

This narrative reminds the writer of the relation of her 
own experience given to him some years ago by an elderly 
woman, a member among the German Baptists, who was a 
religiously-minded person. 

When a young woman, like many others at that time of 
life, she was thoughtless and giddy. A young man be- 
longing to a neighboring family, with whom there was con- 
siderable intimacy, seemed seriously inclined, and would 
frequently, after being at meeting, make some remark which 
indicated that the religious services had made an impression 
on his mind. But she, in her thoughtless frivolity, would 
ridicule his seriousness, and tell him, " You are getting re- 
ligious." 

One day his sister came in haste across the field to her 
home, telling her she must immediately come to their help, 
for her brother was taken very ill, and said he was not fit 
to die. This brought her into a very close trial — for she 
felt that her influence over him had been unfavorable, and 
it would be awful indeed if he should be taken in an un- 
prepared state, and the responsibility rest upon her. 

He lived about two weeks from that time, and before his 
death was favored with an evidence of acceptance with his 
Heavenly Father. But what she then passed through had 
a sobering effect upon my informant, and that period of time 
proved to be a turning point in her spiritual career. 

Two hundred years ago, John Flavel,* of Dartmouth, 

*An eminent Nonconformist minister, a native of Worcestershire, 
England. He was the author of many religious pieces. He died in 
1691, and his works have been several times republished. " An excel- 
lent man, full of zeal in the cause of religion." 



32 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

England, driven out of his pulpit by the persecuting Act of 
Uniformity, was preaching in the open field. With his 
wonted earnestness and affectionate fervor of address, he 
spoke of the dreadful curse resting on all who loved not the 
Lord Jesus. Among the listeners on that day was a youth 
of fifteen, who heard the solemn words of the preacher, and 
went away as though he heard them not. Some of noble 
birth and high intellectual culture were so deeply affected 
that they fell senseless upon the ground. But that thought- 
less young man only listened and looked on as if he were a 
disinterested spectator. Soon afterwards he began a roving 
life upon the seas, and finally settled down for a permanent 
home, a fatherless and a p rave rl ess man, in America. 
Eighty-five years passed by from that day of field preaching 
at Dartmouth, and the boy of fifteen was now a man of a 
hundred years, and a wanderer from God. The quick sus- 
ceptibilities of youth had died in his old and guilty heart 
long ago. Xo ordinary faith could have believed that the 
seed-corn of divine truth, planted by John Flavel's preach- 
ing eighty-five years before, on the other side of the ocean, 
still survived, and was destined to spring up and bear fruit 
unto life eternal. It chanced on a certain day that he found 
himself alone in an open field belonging to his farm, with 
no weeping multitude around him to awaken his sympathies, 
and no preacher's solemn voice to tell him of his sin. Moved, 
he knew not how, that old man, in his hundredth year, pass- 
ing over all the intervening space, felt himself back again 
in the fields at Dartmouth, hearing the fearful words, "If 
any man love not the Lord Jesus, let him be accursed." 
And the message of heaven, which the thoughtless youth 
so easily rejected, was mightier when speaking from the 
remembei-ed past than when heard from the living voice. 
Then first the aged sinner found strength to roll the burden 
of the threatened curse from his heart, through the exercise 
of penitent and trusting love. He lived to the extraordinary 
age of one hundred and sixteen years, believing and re- 
joicing in the Saviour whom for a century he had rejected. 

In the Ninth Month of 1868, when in company with that 
good man, Ebenezer Worth, of Chester County, Penna., he 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 33 

related to the writer the case of one of* his neighbors, which 
illustrates the long-suffering loving-kindness of the Lord, 
who wills not that any should perish. 

This neighbor had been a rough man, giving little evi- 
dence of regard for religion, and became ill with what 
proved to be his last sickness. Ebenezer went on a First-day 
afternoon to see him, and found him in a suffering state, and 
his nerves rendered irritable by the disease, so that he looked 
" fierce." After kindly inquiring into his wants, and whether 
he was supplied with suitable food and fuel, and finding that 
the neighbors had attended to these wants, the way opened 
to make some remarks on the comfort and support which 
religion furnishes in times of sickness and suffering. The 
sick man replied that he did not believe in hell as preached 
by the Methodists, &c. ; but seemed a little softened before 
Ebenezer left him. 

The next First-day E. again visited him, and found him 
in a milder mood, though still disposed to cavil at some of 
the truths of religion. In the course of the conversation 
which followed, the sick man related an incident that had 
occurred to him many years before. He said at one time 
he was walking and carrying a bag of meal, when an im- 
pression came over his mind to pray. This was so unusual, 
and seemed so strange to him, that he knew not what to 
make of it. He thought that if he should make the effort, 
he would not know what to say in his prayer. But the im- 
pression was so strong, that finally he laid down his bag of 
meal and knelt beside it. The feelings and thoughts that 
then came into his mind, and the words that were put into 
his mouth, were surprising to himself; and he arose from 
the ground with a quiet, comfortable feeling, that continued 
about him for several days. As he related to Ebenezer this 
remarkable visitation of Divine Grace, a portion of the same 
feeling which had accompanied it seemed to revive on his 
mind, and E. parted with him in a more satisfactory con- 
dition than he had been in. Before the close of his life 
came, Divine mercy accomplished its work in his case, and 
he died the death of a Christian. 



34 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

When Daniel Stanton* was quite young, he lived in a 
part of New Jersey, where he had no opportunity of attend- 
ing a place of religious worship. " But the Lord," he says, 
" was pleased, by his grace and good visitations, to operate 
on my mind, that I was made to dread and fear the great 
Almighty Being, and it was given me to know that ' God is 
a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship Him in 
spirit and truth;' and through the blessed knowledge of 
God by his Holy Spirit, I had great reproof in my own 
breast for sin and transgression, and dreaded to speak bad 
words, or do what was evil, and was brought by inward con- 
viction to mourn and seek for mercy to my soul. And at a 
time when I heard of the suffering of my dear Saviour on 
the cross, and how He suffered unto death, my heart was 
broken before the Lord, and I went alone and wept, being 
much affected with a sense of his suffering by that hard- 
hearted people, the Jews, and of his being crucified. Great 
was the goodness of the Almighty to me, in giving me a 
sense of many things appertaining to godliness, in the time 
of this tender visitation ; and I found by the divine witness 
in myself, that if I would be a disciple of Christ, I must 
take up my cross daily to that which displeaseth God, He 
being greatly to he feared and obeyed, and was worthy of 
the deepest reverence that my soul, body and strength could 
ascribe to his all-powerful name." 

Daniel Stanton was one of many witnesses to the fulfil- 
ment of the gracious promise, " they shall be all taught of 
God." For the Apostle declares, "The grace of God which 
bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men, teaching 
them, &c.," so that it may truly be said, "there is no speech 
or language" where the voice of this Divine Instructor is 
not heard. 

One of the most marvellous instances of the transforming 

*A resident in Philadelphia, where he was born in 1708, and died in 
1770. He labored in the ministry of the Gospel in various parts of 
America and the West India Islands, and also in England, Wales and 
Scotland. See Life in Friends' Library, vol. 12, p. 146, etc. 



I N C I D K N T S A N L» R B F L E C T I N S . 35 

power of Divine Grace is that related by John B. Gough,* 
of a woman whom he encountered in Edinburgh, Scotland, 
where he had gone to labor in the interests of temperance. 

He attended a meeting in the wickedest part of that city. 
He had never before witnessed such degradation, misery 
and filth, as were visible among the outcasts there assembled. 
Among the audience was one of the most desperate charac- 
ters known to the city authorities. She had served fifty-four 
terms in prison. Not one of the police force would attempt 
to arrest her without help, and when she was excited by rum 
or passion, the thieves and outlaws among whom she lived 
would flee from her. 

Some one on the platform pointed her out to J. B. Gough, 
and was telling him her character, when she noticed that 
they were looking at her. She immediately arose, went on 
to the platform, and in a defiant manner asked Gough 
whether he would give the temperance pledge to such an one 
as she. His companion greatly feared a scene of fighting 
and confusion and whispered to Gough not to notice her — 
that she would never keep a pledge to abstain from liquor. 
She demanded in a threatening way, Is he ready to give 
me the pledge ? He replied, yes ; but there is a man here 
that says you will not keep it. Terribly excited at this, she 
screamed at the top of her voice, and demanded to know 
who and Avhere he was that had so said. Her excitement 
was calmed by Gough who again said_ he would give her 
the pledge, and that he would take her word to keep it as 
quick as he would the word of any woman in Edinburgh. 
Touched by his confidence, she stood quiet and thoughtful 
for a minute, and yielding to the visitation of Divine love 
to her soul, afresh extended at that critical moment, she 
promised to give up her drinking habits. 

Four years after, J. B. Gough held another meeting at 
Edinburgh. Two women sat in front of the platform, listen- 
ing attentively. The tears and emotion of one of them 
touched his heart deeply. When the meeting closed one of 

* A celebrated temperance lecturer. Born in Kent, England, in 1817, 
and removed to the United States when twelve years old. Died 1886. 
The author of several auto-biographical works. 



36 [ N C 1 D E N T S AND R EFLEC T I N S . 

the women came up to the platform and asked him if he 
knew the woman that sat sobbing in front of him. He said 
no. " Well," she said, " that is my mother. And oh how 
proud I am of her. But the fire and rum is all taken out of 
her now, wherein the neighbors were all afraid of her when 
:;he drank. Now, when they have trouble or sickness, the 
worst of them will say, bring me the good angel, for she has 
got the comfort that serves all." There she sat clothed, and 
in her right mind. She that was as ferocious as a tiger sits 
with streams of joyful tears, wetting her cheeks, so subdued 
and humble that she shrinks from making herself known 
even^ to the man that dare trust her word when no living 
creature would believe her. Gough asked her how she got 
along. " Oh sir, the struggle was hard, hard, hard, very 
hard. Often I have dreamed that I had gone back to 
drink, and that I was fighting with the neighbors with a 
worse nature than ever before. The dreams have been so 
real to me that I have often awakened out of sleep and 
rolled out of bed onto my knees, crying at the top of my 
voice for God to save me, and 1 would never drink or fight 
again. 

" The voice of my daughter has often called me to con- 
sciousness, in times of such despair. She would cry, ' Mother, 
mother — you are safe ; it is only a dream you had.' As I 
passed from that anguish, at the thought of falling, I had 
some idea of the misery of a lost soul, And when I threw 
myself on the floor *)f my little quiet, clean room, with my 
saved daughter by my side, Oh how the joy of a heaven on 
earth flooded through my soul. Praise (rod I am not only 
saved from drink, but saved from sinning against such a 
merciful and loving God as I have found in Jesus." 

J. B. Gough made inquiry from others how she got along 
and spent her time. He found that she hired a little shop 
and sold eatables, such as the poor around her used, at a 
lower price than they could buy at other places. Her 
daughter and she made common sacks. They lived on 
bhirty cents a day, and were able to help scores of poor 
families. As soon as the drink got out of her own system, 
she began to labor with others like herself. Her first effort 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 37 

was with ;i woman that was counted the next hardest 
case in Edinburgh. She never left her until she was re- 
claimed. When she went after such ones, she was never 
known to fail. She believed when she felt for them, God 
felt for them, and had laid the burden on her for them. 
There was no sacrifice too great for her to make, in view of 
rescuing another immortal soul. She generally brought 
them to her house, and kept them there, until she broke up 
their hardened hearts with her love. She would watch 
every move that they would make. She would wait on 
them, wash their feet, comb their hair, pat their cheeks, and 
kiss them as but few mothers can. She knew her work, 
and had the assurance that she was successfully wooing 
them for Christ. She was never idle in her new Master's 
work. Many were lifted up from the lowest depths of sin 
through her instrumentality. 

She lived to the honor of her Redeemer, Jesus Christ, 
over twenty-seven years. She died in great joy, praising- 
God for his power to save to the uttermost all that come 
to Him through Jesus Christ, the only mediator between 
God and man. 

The mayor of Edinburgh, with the city officers, and min- 
isters of the gospel, and Christians of every denomination, 
together with thousands of the citizens, mourned with a 
heartfelt grief as her remains were lowered into the grave. 

A remarkable instance of the convicting and converting 
power of Divine Grace is that furnished by the case of 
Edward Wright,* of London. 

He was a dissolute man, given to fighting, fond of drinking, 
and one who often resorted to thieving and other dishonest 
ways of obtaining the means of supporting himself and fami- 
ly. At the time that he was thoroughly awakened to a sense 
of his spiritual condition, he was under training for a project- 
ed prize-fight, in which he was to participate. After tea 
he asked his wife to accompany him in a walk, so that if 
any of his companions should call that night, with a view 
of persuading him to drink, he might escape a temptation 

* Incidents in. the Life of Edward Wright. London, 1870. 
4 



38 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

that would materially interfere with his prospects of success. 
They had not gone far before they were met by a boy who 
was distributing invitations to a meeting. On the circular 
were the words, " All seats free, no collections ;" and they 
concluded to spend the evening- at the meeting. 

The preaching did not greatly ailect him ; but at the close 
of the sendees, the preacher cried with a loud voice, " Young 
man, where will you spend eternity?" This he repeated 
six times causing an interval of solemn quiet to pervade 
the meeting between each cry of " Eternity." 

During those awful moments the Holy Spirit brought to 
his remembrance his past history ; the thought came, " Am 
I prepared to die?" and he remembered the words of the 
preacher "The wicked shall be turned into hell, with all 
the nations that forget God." So great was the agitation of 
his feelings, that at last he swooned. 

Whilst in this partly unconscious state, the intellectual 
faculties were still awake, and to his strongly excited feel- 
ings the realities of the Day of Judgment seemed actually 
present. His conscience being greatly stirred, he felt him- 
self standing as a wretched sinner before the great Judge 
without any thing to say in his own defence. In this awful 
condition, feeling his guilt, and with broken heart seeking 
for pardon and forgiveness, he was impressed with the con- 
viction that there was hope for him through the mercy of 
God in Christ Jesus. 

When he was restored to consciousness, the perspiration 
was streaming from his brow, and tears channelling his 
cheeks. 

His wife also was deeply impressed on the same occasion, 
and they returned home fully determined to walk hand in 
hand on the heavenly journey. 

The next morning brought with it a test of the sincerity 
of his newly formed resolutions. He felt that he could not 
fulfil his engagement to take part in the prize-fight. So, the 
first thing after breakfast he went to the friend by whom 
the matter had been arranged, and announced his intention. 
Of course, he was met with many bitter reproaches; called 
«\ cur, and a fool ; and one remarked, " Poor Xed, he's gone 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 39 

off his chump (i. e. mind) at last." Ned overheard the free 
criticism, and observed, " No, I was never in my right mind 
before ; but I am now, thanks be to God. 

Like the Apostle Paul, who also was met with in a sud- 
den and very wonderful manner, Edward Wright was not 
disobedient to the heavenly vision. His narrative furnishes 
an interesting instance of what Robert Barclay says, in 
speaking of the Spirit of Christ, that it " Comes upon all at 
certain times and seasons, wherein it works powerfully upon 
the soul, mightily tenders it, and breaks it ; at which time, 
if man resist it not, but closes with it, he comes to know 
salvation by it. God moves in love to mankind, at some 
singular times, setting his sins in order before him, and seri- 
ously inviting him to repentance, offering to him remission 
of sins and salvation : which, if man accept of, he may be 
saved." " This then," he adds, " O man or woman, is the 
day of God's gracious visitation to thy soul, which if thou 
resist not, thou shalt be happy forever."* 

The memorable evening when E. Wright was providen- 
tally led to a place of religious worship, appears to have 
been to him, such a " singular time" and it was indeed an 
unspeakable favor to him, that he was enabled to submit 
to the Divine visitation. He often afterwards spoke of it 
as the time of his " conversion" — and so it truly was in 
the proper sense of the word, which signifies a turning or 
changing ; for his thoughts were turned from the pursuit 

* Barclay's Apology, Prop. V., VI., Sec. 16. Robert Barclay, who 
belonged to a noble family in Scotland, joined the Society of Friends 
While still young, and was the author of several works in which he 
defended its principles with great learning and ability. His Apology, 
first published in 1675, has been translated into several languages, and 
often reprinted, both in England and America. He died in 1690, aged 
forty-two years. For a fuller account of him, see SeweVs History of the 
Quakers, Evans' Friends of the Seventeenth Century, Biographia Bri- 
tannica, Allibone's Dictionary of Authors, etc. 



40 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

of merely sensual gratifications towards the possession of 
heavenly treasures. But he experienced, as all true Chris- 
tians do, that though his feet had been happily turned into 
the path that leads to Heaven, yet many struggles and con- 
flicts were to be encountered in his journey thither. 



CHAPTER III. 

Conversion by Instrumental Means. Gospel Ministry. John Ashton. 
John Estaugh's Preaching. Baptizing Power of True Ministry. Effect 
on Joseph Pike. Samuel Neale's Awakening. " What can this old 
fool say?" William Williams' Reproof. Dreams. David Ferris, 
i >f the Unworthy Captain. Of the Pasture Field. Of ( riving way to 
Provocation. Of Washing Linen. Of the Dangerous Ferry-boat. Of 
Helping a Neighbor. Of Going to Hell. Warnings and Accidents. 
S. Grellet at St. Gilles. Racing-horses. The Privateer " Tartar." The 
Singer and the Poor Laborer. The Widow of Lyons. Example. 
Effectof on an Infidel. " Aunt Mary's Practising." " Master's Life." 
Madagascar Convert. Mountebank Preacher. Acknowledging the 
Wrong. German Rationalist Convinced. "His Life a Sermon." 
French Hospital Matron. Swearing Pilot, The P.lood of the Martyrs 
is the Seed of the Church. The clerks and their Bibles. Mechanic 
and Lady. Responsibility for Influence. Presbyterian and his store 
Boy. Thomas H. Benton's Mother. The Coachman's Mother. Con- 
sistency. The Unfaithful Cooper. The Irritated Professor. John 
Churchman and Armed Vessels. Blessing on Cards. 

Although the glory of man's conversion and salvation is 
due to the Lord alone, yet He operates not only immediately 
by his Spirit, but also through various instrumental means; 
in all which cases, the good effected must be ascribed to the 
Divine blessing that rests upon them. Among these means, 
is the exercise of Gospel ministry, which has often proved 
effectual in awakening the careless and unconcerned, as well 



ENCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 41 

as in edifying and comforting those who are endeavoring to 
walk in the footsteps of Christ's companions. 

The general subject of the Ministry will be referred to 
further on, but some illustrations of the effects which have 
been produced by it will be introduced in this place. 

It is related of John Ash ton, of Killconinmore, Ireland, in 
the early days of the Society of Friends, that being desirous 
of further discoveries of the knowledge of God and way of 
salvation, he, with his wife, went to a meeting at Birr, when 
both of them were convinced by the powerful ministry of 
Thomas Wilson: and were obedient to the manifestation 
of truth in their hearts. On coming out of the meeting 
they said to each other, " The way of everlasting happiness 
has been clearly laid down before us, and we are resolved to 
walk in it, come life or come death." 

Not long after, he was thrown into prison for his Chris- 
tian testimony against tithes, where he was kept .-ix months, 
and bore his confinement with exemplary patience and resig- 
nation ; and being accustomed to industry and averse to 
idleness, he learned to make gartering and laces for his 
support during his imprisonment. 

When at liberty he and his wife constantly attended the 
meeting at Birr, twice a week, generally going on foot about 
seven miles of a very bad road, and having a river to wade 
through both going and returning. When crossing this 
river in winter, they sometimes had to break the ice, and 
John frequently Avept to see the blood on his wife's limbs 
in coming through it. 

When Friends travelling in the service of the gospel, 
came to his house, his zeal for the propagation of the truth 
and love to the souls of his neighbors was manifested in the 
great pains he took to invite them to come and partake of 
the benefit of their labors ; for which purpose it was his 
frequent practice to ride several miles round, and this in 
the night, as well as day, and even in the depth and severity 
of the winter season ; and though some returned scoffs and 
abusive speeches, yet many came and were well satisfied ; 
several were convinced, and among the rest some of his 
own servants. 
4* 



42 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

We doubt not that many in this day are convinced by 
the Spirit of Truth of what the Lord requires of them. 
Happy would it be for all such, if like this Friend and his 
wife, they would resolve, when the way of life and salvation 
is set before them, " to walk in it, come life or come death. " 

When Daniel Stanton* was a boy, he was brought into a 
serious state of mind, and persuaded a relation to accom- 
pany him to a Friends' meeting at Newtown. "In this 
blessed opportunity," he says, " through the power of truth 
and the good testimony of that dear servant of Christ, John 
Estaugh, being attended with the authority of the word of 
life, my heart was greatly contrited, and my spirit baptized 
in the presence of God ; it was a joyful day of good tidings 
to my poor seeking soul ; and the eminent and powerful 
advice that did attend that worthy instrument in the Lord's 
hand for my salvation, has been ' like bread cast upon the 
waters, that has been found after many days.' He adds, 
"I went from that meeting much satisfied with the way of 
worship of Friends." 

In his Journal, D. Stanton gives an illustration of the 
effect produced by a true exercise of spirit, when, in speak- 
ing of a religious visit which he paid to England, he says : 

"In some of the counties in which I had been, some dear 
young people, who were libertine in the shew of pride and 
finery of the world, became sober, solid and exemplary ; 
and one young woman in particular was so reached, as I 
sat in a Friend's house, though I had nothing by way of 
testimony in words, to her condition, yet the weight and 
exercise attending my mind at that time, so reached her 
understanding, she became a plain solid Friend ; and before 
I left England I heard her in the ministry at a meeting, 
and, as I thought, to the general satisfaction of Friends 
present." 

Joseph Pikef relates that in the year 1669, when he 
*See note, p. 34. 

t A member ol the Bociety oi Friends, who resided at Cork, Ireland. 
P.orn lii57, died 1729. .See Life in Friends Library, vol. J, p. 340, etc. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 43 

was about twelve years of age, "William Edmundson* of 
Rosenallis, that worthy and honorable Friend and father in 
Israel," was concerned to visit Friends at Cork, where he 
resided. He says, "To this meeting I went, with great 
heaviness and sorrow upon my soul, under a mournful 
sense of my repeated transgressions against the Lord ; and 
also with earnest cries, that He would be pleased to forgive 
me, and for the time to come grant me power and strength 
over the temptations of the enemy ; for I clearly saw that I 
was not capable, by any ability of my own, to preserve my- 
self from the least evil, agreeably to the saying of my blessed 
Lord, ' Without me ye can do nothing.' I sat down in the 
meeting full of sorrow ; and William Edmundson's testimony 
so reached my inward state and condition, and pierced my 
very soul, that I could not refrain crying out in the meet- 
ing, under a sense of my sins and the Lord's terrors and 
judgments, which I then felt beyond what I had ever before 
experienced. And I was at that time as truly baptized by 
the powerful preaching of the word of life by him, as those 
were to whom the apostle Peter preached." Acts ii. 37. 

At one period of Job Scott'sf life, he had imbibed the 
belief that baptism with water was a Christian ordinance. 
The argument which produced this conclusion, he thus 
states : 

" ' Christ commanded his disciples to baptize : no man can 
baptize with the Holy Ghost ; therefore the baptism He 
commanded was not that of the Holy Ghost, but that of 
water.' This then appeared to me conclusive and unan- 
swerable. But it was my ignorance of that baptizing power 
which attends all true Gospel ministry, that made me assent 
to this false position, ' No man can baptize with the Holy 
Ghost' Man himself, in his own mere ability, I know can- 
not ; but I also know, that of himself, he cannot preach the 

*An eminent minister in the early days of the Society of Friends. 
Born in Westmoreland, England, in 1627. Removed to Ireland about 
1652. Twice visited America in the service of the Gospel. Died in 
1712. See Journal in Friends' Library, vol. 2, p. 84, etc. 

tSee note, p. 14. 



44 I N C I 1 ) E N T S A N D RE F LECTIONS. 

gospel. This assertion, ' no man can preach the gospel,' is 
just as true as that, 'no man can baptize with the Holy- 
Ghost.' As man merely, he can do nothing at all of either; 
but it still stands true, man can, man does, through Divine 
assistance, do both. The real gospel was never yet preached, 
but ' with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven.' Thus 
the apostles preached it, and thus alone it is still preached ; 
and so preaching it, it was a baptizing ministry. As they 
spake, the Holy Ghost fell on them that heard them ; that 
is, where faith wrought in the hearts of the hearers, and the 
living eternal word preached, through the power of the 
Holy Ghost, was mixed with faith in them that heard it; 
the Holy Ghost fell on them, baptizing them into a living, 
soul-saving sense of the power of God unto salvation, which 
is the true life of the Gospel. Thus the apostles fulfilled the 
commission ; they taught baptizingly" 

When Samuel Neale,* of Cork, Ireland, was a young man, 
he indulged in many sinful pleasures and liberties, and was 
far from submitting to the restraints of the cross of Christ. 
In an account of his life which was left among his papers, 
he describes the manner in which he was aroused to an 
earnest pursuit after heavenly riches. He says : — 

" I remember being at a play one evening, up late that 
night ; and lying pretty long next morning, which was 
First-day, an acquaintance asked me to go to meeting, and 
at the same time informed me there were strangers to be 
there, telling me who they were. I said, I would, for at 
my worst state I generally attended meetings. So to meeting 
I went, and it was a memorable one to me; for in it my 
state was so opened to that highly favored instrument in 
the Lord's hand, Catharine Paytonf ( who with my beloved 

:; A resident of Ireland. Paid a visit to America as a minister of the 
Gospel. Died in 1792, aged sixty-two years. .See Life in Friends' Li- 
brary, vol. 11, p. 1, etc. 

t Afterwards Catharine Phillips. Visited as a minister, America and 
Holland. Died in 1704, a^d about sixty-eight years. See Memoirs In 
Friends' Library, vol. 11, p. 188, etc. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECT! N S . 45 

friend, Mary Peisley,* was visiting the churches) that all I 
had done seemed to have been unfolded to her in a won- 
derful manner. I was as one smitten to the ground, dissolved 
in tears, and without spirit. This was a visitation from the 
Most High, beyond all others that I had as yet witnessed. 
I was so wrought upon by the power and Spirit of the holy 
Jesus, that, like Saul, I was ready to cry out : " Lord, what 
would st thou have me to do?" I was almost ashamed to be 
seen, being so bedewed with tears, and slunk away from the 
meeting to get into a private place * * I abode still and 
quiet, and kept near these messengers of glad tidings to me. 
I went with them to Bandon and Kinsale ; and the same 
powerful dispensation of Divine virtue followed me, break- 
ing in upon me, and tendering my spirit in a wonderful 
manner, in public meetings as well as private opportunities ; 
which drew the attention and observation of many. When 
I returned to Cork, I kept as private as I well could, and 
resolved to quit all my worldly pursuits, and follow the 
gentle leadings of that heavenly Light, which showed me 
the vanity of worldly glory, and that the pleasures of sin 
are but as for a moment." 

As Samuel Neale continued to walk in the way which the 
Lord cast up before him, he was soon constrained to open his 
mouth in testimony. Beturning to Dublin, which was then 
his home, he says : 

"I had much reasoning with flesh and blood, such as, 
what would the people think or say of such an one as I, 
who had been a gay young man, a libertine, and a per- 
secutor of the holy Jesus in his spiritual appearance, to ap- 
pear now as a preacher of righteousness. When the meet- 
ing-day came, my fears increased ; and in this state I went 
to meeting. It was on a First-day ; there was a very large 
gathering, amongst whom were divers of my associates and 
old companions. I Avas concerned to bear my testimony, 
which I did in great fear and trembling. The subject was 

♦Afterwards Mary Neale. She lived in Ireland. Visited America 
in company with Catharine Payton. Married Samuel Neale and died 
three days afterwards, in 1757, aged about forty years. 



46 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

Paul's conversion: 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' 
It was spoken in great brokenness, — I did not say much, 
but it had an extraordinary reach over the meeting ; many 
wept aloud, and for a considerable space of time. After 
meeting I endeavored to get away unperceived, though one 
man (not of our Society), caught me in his arms and em- 
braced me. Thus I was sustained and strengthened in my 
setting out in the work of the ministry ; and had an evidence 
that the people were much reached and powerfully affected 
that day." 

On one occasion, Thomas Wilson,* whom Thomas Story 
describes as one of the most powerful ministers of his time, 
was at a meeting in London where there was a great con- 
course of people, and among them two persons of high rank 
in the world, Avho sat very attentively whilst a Friend Avas 
speaking, and seemed to like what was delivered. But when 
Thomas stood up, being old, bald, and of a mean appear- 
ance, they despised him ; and one said to the other : " Come, 
my lord, let us go, for what can this old fool say?" " No," 
said the other, let us stay, for this is Jeremiah, the prophet ; 
let us hear him." So, as Thomas went on, the life arose and 
the power got into dominion, which tendered one of them 
in a very remarkable manner ; the tears flowed in great 
plenty from his eyes, which he strove in vain to hide. After 
Thomas had sat down, this person stood up, and desired he 
might be forgiven of the Almighty for despising the greatest 
of his instruments under Heaven. 

The following incident, related by William Williams* in 
his journal, is an interesting illustration of the manner in 
which the Spirit of Christ in the hearer often bears witness 
to the truth of the messages which are delivered by Divine 
authority ; and thus makes them effectual for reproof, for 
correction, for instruction in righteousness. 

* An eminent minister in the Society of Friends. Born in Cumber- 
land, England. Removed to Ireland in 1694, and died in 1725, aged 
seventy-one years. He travelled in < treat Britain, Ireland, and Ame- 
rica. See Life in Friends Library, vol. 2, p. 310, etc. 

* See note, p. 20. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS 47 

He says: — "Now I think proper to relate a circumstance 
which took place as I was travelling, which is as follows: 

" I was alone, and put up at a professor's house, to lodge. 
After I had been in the hall a little while, the landlord 
asked to be excused, and walked out to order his evening 
business, so that I was left alone, which gave me a better 
opportunity to hear what passed in an adjoining room, 
where one of the company raised her voice in singing praises 
to her Maker (as she called it), and after a very short line 
it broke off into very loud laughter. The singing then com- 
menced again, and then the laughter, and so on for four 
times ; so that I thought that I should be under the necessity 
of telling them my thoughts, if I should get an opportunity. 
Supper was soon set in the hall, and they were invited to 
sup, whereupon the landlady and five young women came 
in, and we sat down and supped. After we were done, 
before we left the table I brought on the discourse I wished, 
by observing to the landlady that I hardly thought these 
were all her daughters. She answered that two of them 
were her daughters, and the other three were neighbors, 
who had come on a visit. I thought I could mark out the 
singer ; so I spoke and said, ' It is likely I may give you 
reason to think that I am a meddling traveller, for I have 
some remarks to make to you, from what I have heard since 
I came here.' I then told them what I had heard as above 
related. I told them not to misunderstand me, for I was not 
speaking against praising their Maker, if it was done with 
the Spirit ; but against its being interrupted by loud unbe- 
coming laughter; a thing that ought to be beneath the 
dignity of so noble beings as they were, at any time, much 
more when engaged in that exercise. 

" I told them, it brought to my remembrance the words 
of the apostle, where he was speaking of the unruliness of 
the tongue, with which, saith he, 'we bless God and curse 
men ; these things ought not to be so ;' said I, ' these things 
ought not to be mixed together.' When I was done, the 
noble young woman, whom I had marked out in my mind, 
spoke and said, ' I thank you kindly, sir, for your rebuke. 
I am the very one, and I knew I was doing wrong when I 



48 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

did it ; yes,' said she, ' there was something here,' (clapping 
her hand on her breast) 'which told me that it was wrong.' 

" The landlord then took up the subject and said some- 
thing on the imperfection of man, but I do not recollect 
what he said, nor what I answered ; but my answer was 
such that he said no more. The young woman then ob- 
served that the leprosy was out of the power of man to 
cure. I said it was ; — but did she not think that Christ 
was as able to heal the leprosy now, as He was when here on 
the earth ? She said He was. ' But,' continued she, ' we 
read that it gets into the wall ; then the wall has to be 
taken down and rebuilt before it can be cleansed,' and this 
she said, was a great work. To which I agreed, and asked if 
it was not a necessary work to salvation. She said it was. 
I asked if she did not think it was a possible work through 
the assistance of the spirit of Christ. After a solemn pause, 
she said it was. So I told her, if we have a great work to 
doj and a necessary work, it is no matter how soon Ave begin, 
in faith, to do it. To which she acknowledged and was 
silent. 

" Then I took the opportunity, in a few words, to open 
to her, and the rest, that to do this work, was to attend to 
that in the breast, which tells us when we do wrong. For 
instance, if thou (directing my discourse to the young 
woman) had'st attended to that within at the first, perhaps 
thou would'st not have been overtaken in the first breach of 
good order, much less to have repeated it. For that which 
spoke in thy breast and told thee that thou wast doing 
wrong, was Christ within, the saint's hope of glory, who has 
descended into the hearts of the children of men, in order 
to heal them and cleanse them from all sin and leprosy, and 
make them a pure people, and enable them to praise God 
in humility of spirit, and purity of mind ; then this degrad- 
ing thing of loud laughter would be far from our minds, 
and we should be preserved from being overtaken by that 
fault, as well as by all others. 

" We then rose from the table, and it was taken into the 
other room. After a time the women withdrew, and the 
landlord pretty soon spoke of going to rest. I said I was 



I N C 1 1) E N T S AND R E F 1, E C TIONS. 49 

ready to lie down ; so he stepped to the door and called Jin- 
a candle to light me to bed. When these young women 
heard this, they all came in again, and the young woman 
whom I have mentioned before spoke as for all, and said, 
' You are a traveller, and will, likely, be up and gone in 
the morning, before we shall come down from our chamber ; 
■and we thought we could do no less than to come in and 
take our solemn leave of you, and once more thank you for 
your advice and counsel, hoping we may never forget it, 
nor you.' So said they all as they bid me farewell, with 
tears flowing from their eyes, which they did not try to 
hide, for the truth had tendered their hearts. So we parted 
in great tenderness and love. Oh! that people would 
attend to that which teaches within, so that they might 
become the children of light, and dwell no longer in dark- 
ness ; for as many as are led by the Spirit of God are sons 
of God; and God is light, from whom cometh that winch 
teaches within, being the true light that lighteth every one 
that cometh into the world, which is the Spirit of God, 
which leads up to Him, and enables us to become his 
children." 

Among the instrumental means which are used to awaken 
man to serious reflection are dreams. Some persons pay a 
superstitious respect to dreams, which are often but the 
unbalanced and unrestrained operation of the mind when 
the controlling power of reason is wholly or partially at 
rest. Yet there is abundant evidence that it does please 
the Almighty Dispenser of wisdom, sometimes to speak to 
man in the visions of the night, when the head is reclining 
in slumber. Such dreams are accompanied in the waking 
hours which follow, with an impression that a lesson is to 
be learned from them ; and have often been a means of con- 
veying instruction, warning, or comfort. 

David Ferris* relates in his journal that when he was 

*Born in Connecticut in 1707. Settled in Wilmington, Delaware, in 
1737. Died in 1779. See Memoirs, several tirnes reprinted. 



50 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

under preparation for the work of the ministry, and sensible 
of the Divine call, yet unwilling to yield obedience, he Avas 
at a meeting on Long Island in company with two women 
Friends, travelling in the ministry. On this occasion a 
concern came upon his mind to say something, but he re- 
fused to comply. The following night, one of the women 
dreamed, he says, " that she saw me sitting by a pleasant 
stream of water; before me a table was spread with all 
manner of dainties ; but I was chained, so that I could not 
reach any of them ; at which she was troubled, and asked 
the master of the feast why I was deprived of the liberty to 
partake of the good things on the table. He answered that 
the time had been, when, on certain conditions, I might 
have enjoyed them to the full, but that I had refused the 
terms, and therefore was now justly deprived of them. She 
inquired of him, whether this must always be my case. He 
answered perhaps not; that if I would yet submit and com- 
ply with the terms, it was not too late to partake of all the 
good things she saw. The interpretation of this dream was 
easy and plain. It rested on my mind for several years, as 
cause of humbling instruction, and incitement to future care, 
diligence and obedience." 

How many of us are like David Ferris, prevented from 
partaking of the rich bounties of the Lord's spiritual table, 
by a want of faithful obedience to his requirings ! We would 
fain be reckoned as on his side, yet hold back part of the 
price. We are afraid to trust ourselves unreservedly in his 
hands, not having that living faith in his goodness and 
mercy, which would enable us to believe that all his deal- 
ings with us would be for our good. Therefore we want to 
retain the government of our lives, in part at least, in our 
own hands, and so our course is a sad mixture of inconsisten- 
cies, in which little spiritual progress is discernible ; and but 
little is known of the enjoyment dispensed to the true-hearted 
follower of the Saviour. " Trust in the Lord with all thine 
heart, and lean not to thy own understanding." "They 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 51 

that trust in the Lord shall he as Mount Zion which can- 
not be removed, but abideth forever." 

On another occasion David Ferris says : " Being from home 
at a meeting, I was concerned to say something to the peo- 
ple; but I postponed it till a more convenient season. On 
this account I left the meeting in great heaviness and sorrow, 
for my disobedience. On the following night I dreamed 
that I saw two generals drawing up their armies in order 
for battle. Each captain had his men in order ready to 
obey the command of their general, and stood at their head 
waiting for orders to march and stand in the engagement 
where he should command them. One of the generals came 
to a captain who stood near me, and said to him, 'You are 
a valiant man and skilful in the art of war; therefore march 
into the right wing of the army, and in front of the battle.' 
But the captain objected to the post assigned him, and 
pleaded his unfitness for it, saying, ' It is a place of danger, 
and requires a man better qualified for such a post.' The 
general answered that he was well qualified for the place 
allotted him, and that if he took it, he might by his skill 
and valor, do eminent service for his king and country, and 
gain great honor, which would be a means of promoting 
him to places of higher trust. He, however, desired to 
be excused and could not be persuaded to take the post 
assigned him. I stood by and heard all the general's argu- 
ments to persuade him to comply, until I was filled with 
indignation at the captain's obstinacy, especially as the 
general had absolute authority to command, and yet was so 
kind as to use entreaty and persuasion. I then said to the 
general, 'It is my judgment this captain is not worthy of 
the place assigned him, since he refuses to serve his king 
and country according to his capacity, and rejects the honor 
and promotion he might obtain. Were I in the general's 
place, I would set him in the rear of the army, where he 
will have less opportunity of promotion, and may lose his 
life as well as in the front.' To this the general replied, 
' The decision is just, and in the rear he shall stand,' where 
he was accordingly stationed. 

" I awoke from my sleep in great distress ; under a sense 



52 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

of the just judgment which (like David) I had passed on 
myself." 

The two following dreams, related by that eminent minis- 
ter of the gospel, Samuel Fothergill * are probably familiar 
to some of my readers, — but there are others to whom they 
may be new, and I believe they may be useful to all. 

Samuel Fothergill, in a meeting at Lurgan, in order, as 
is believed, to arouse the negligent to diligence ere it might 
prove too late, told those present of a Friend, a relative of 
his own, who, when he was young, was earnestly concerned 
for the salvation of his soul, and Avas also well-affected 
toward the truth. About this time, and whilst he was still 
undecided, he dreamed that he found himself in a beautiful 
pasture field surrounded by a wall, in which were a number 
of well-conditioned lambs who fed upon it ; there was also 
a well of pure spring water fur them to drink. Whilst he 
looked upon the lambs an axe was given him, and he was 
instructed to guard the well from pollution, and to repair 
any breaches which might be made in the wall. This 
dream, as well as the following, he related to Samuel 
Fothergill in America, when near the close of life, and 
when it was not with him as in days that were past, he not 
having taken heed to the intimation received, but permitted 
the cares of life and the love of the world to choke the good 
seed, so that he neglected to exercise the gift bestowed upon 
him, and was in consequence thereof, plunged in darkness, 
distress, and sorrow of heart. 

Second dream. — That he found himself again in the 
same pasture field, but it had lost its verdure ; the lambs 
were distempered, and the wall was much broken down ; 
the water in the well was muddy, and there were serpents 
in it which hissed at him when he went near. Having lost 
the weapon he had been entrusted with for its defence, he 
was unable to dislodge or overcome them, and as he looked 

* An eloquent and favored minister in the Society of Friends. Bora 
in Yorkshire, England, 1715. Travelled in America, Ireland and Seot- 
land. Died in 1772. See Memoirs in Friends' Library, vol. 9, p. 83, etc. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. Oo 

upon the lambs aud beheld their condition, he thought he 
heard a voice say, ' All these will I require at thy hands.' 

It is frequently the case that we can trace a connection 
between previous trains of thought, and the visions that 
float over the mind in our sleeping hours, so that we can 
find a rational cause for these vagaries of the imagination. 
But even in such cases it may please the Good Shepherd, 
who watches over his flock, to make the impressions thus 
left on the mind a means of instruction or help to those 
who are looking to him for counsel and direction. 

This is illustrated by a dream which I heard related by 
the person to whom it happened. • 

My friend was a fellow-member of a meeting with a man 
of contentious and unreasonable disposition. On one occa- 
sion this person came to his house and acted so unhand- 
somely, that my friend lost the command of his temper, and 
requested the other to leave, as he was unwilling to be so 
treated in his own house. Almost immediately after his 
visitor had left, he felt condemned for his unwatchfulness, 
and passed through a season of severe mental suffering 
before his peace of mind returned and he felt that his fault 
had been forgiven. About a year afterwards, long after the 
breach had been healed, in his dreams he passed through the 
same experience. He thought that he again lost the control 
of his feelings, and again strongly and distressingly felt the 
sense of condemnation ; and was greatly relieved on awak- 
ing to find it was but a dream. Soon after this, after being 
at their religious meeting, he called in at the house of this 
acquaintance — when something occurred to call forth his 
contentious spirit. The combative feelings of my friend 
began to rise under this fresh provocation, when his dream 
came freshly before his mental vision, as if a curtain had 
been lowered before him. The warning was sufficient, and 



54 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

checking his anger, he quietly turned and walked away, 
truly thankful for the caution extended in the time of need. 
When Stephen Grellet* was a boy at school at Lyons, 
France, he had a dream, or " religious opening," which 
made a deep impression on his mind, and the remembrance 
of which helped to sustain him in many subsequent exer- 
cises and trials. 

" I thought I saw," he says, " a large company of persons. 
or rather purified spirits, on one of those floating vessels, 
which they have at Lyons, on the Rhone, occupied by 
washerwomen. They were washing linen. I wondered to 
see what beating and pounding there was upon it, but how 
beautifully white it came out of their hands. I was told I 
could not enter God's kingdom until I underwent such an 
operation, — that unless I was thus washed and made white, 
I could have no part in the dear Son of God. For weeks 
I was absorbed in the consideration of the subject — the 
washing of regeneration. I had never heard of such things 
before, and I greatly wondered that, having been baptized 
with water, and having also received what they call the 
sacrament of confirmation, I should have to pass through 
such a purification ; for I had never read or heard any one 
speak of such a baptism." 

The experienced Christian learns that it is through much 
tribulation that the righteous enter the kingdom, that it 
requires "much beating and pounding," to remove the 
defilement of sin. The Divine Grace which effect- thk 
change is spoken of under the similitude of a fire and a 
hammer — and the proces- is compared to the removal from 
the precious metal of the dross, the tin and the reprobate 
silver. Yet, while passing through those baptisms, there 
is often granted a sustaining hope that the effect thereof 

*Born in France in 177.:. Came to America in 1793. Joined the 
Society of Friends in 179C. Made four religious visits to Europe, and 
travelled extensively on that continent and in America, Died in 1855. 
Sec i.,f-, edited by B. Secbohm. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS 55 

will be peace, and quietness and assurance forever; and 
there are times when the truly devoted servant of the Lord 
is filled with peace and holy joy — a foretaste of thai glorious 
inheritance promised to all those who faithfully follow their 
Lord and Saviour. 

Years ago, J. A., of Leeds, England, was travelling in 
Scotland. In descending a hill, at the toot of which a 
river meandered, he found himself forcibly struck with the 
scene, not only on account of its beauty, but because he 
was certain he had seen it before. As he never before 
had been even to the borders of Scotland, he could not 
at first account for this strange though clear remembrance 
of the country around him. After a few minutes, he recol- 
lected a dream in which he thought he was descending the 
same hill in order to cross the river by a ferry at the foot 
of it ; and that a little ragged boy opened him a gate, and 
held his horse while he got into the boat, and then followed 
him with it ; that when they reached the middle of the river 
the boat sunk and all were drowned. 

As this was passing in his mind, the same little ragged 
boy whom he had seen in his dream, opened a gate for him. 
However, startled at the strange coincidence, he reasoned 
that it would be an unworthy thing in a man of sense and 
intelligence to be guided by a dream, which might be a 
mere vagary of the imagination when unrestrained by the 
reason ; and he determined to go on. But the impulse to 
avoid the ferry was too strong to be set aside by such reflec- 
tions, and he concluded to cross the river by the nearest 
bridge which was about twenty miles off. 

Some weeks after, as he was returning from his journey, 
he stopped to dine at an inn on the opposite side of the same 
ferry, The landlord observed him with a melancholy earn- 
estness which distressed him. " Are you not sir," he said 
with great emotion, " the gentleman who, a few weeks ago, 
refused to cross the ferry, and went around Stirling bridge 
instead ?" " Yes," he answered, " I am, why do you ask ?" 
" Then, sir, you may thank God for it ; for either by the 
boat's being too much laden, or from some unknown cause, 



56 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

it sank in the middle of the river, and every one, among 
whom was my son, perished !" 

The caution felt by J. A. not to place too much depend- 
ence on the warnings of a dream was a prudent one ; and the 
same remark is true respecting those impressions which 
sometimes form on the minds in our waking hours. With- 
out such caution a person may become the victim of imagi- 
nary and delusive suggestions. But the testimony of holy 
men of former days, and the experience of those in modern 
times who endeavor to walk in obedience to the will of the 
Saviour, abundantly evince that man is often favored with 
a degree of light and wisdom superior to his own, coming 
immediately from the Source of all our blessings, and that 
the discoveries of this Light are attended with a degree of 
authority and power which satisfies the obedient soul that 
it is safe to follow their guidance. 

S. Carlett states in his Life, that lie owed a sum of money 
which was due on a certain day. and he was very anxious 
not to disappoint his creditor. He says, " When the day 
arrived, notwithstanding all my care, I lacked twenty dol- 
lars to make the amount 1 owed. This was rather strange 
to me,as I thought I had done my best. On the morning of 
the day I rose early and meditated on the matter. Some 
persons might think twenty dollars a small matter to medi- 
tate upon ; but I wished to see where, if at all, I had erred. 
True, I had given away some money to the poor. I had 
not kept account how much. Had I displeased God in 
this? or why was Providence seemingly suffering me to feel 
the regret of a broken promise made to my neighbor ? I 
took no breakfast, but went to a secluded place, and bowed 
to God in prayer. Before I arose from my knees I was 
impressed with a strong assurance that the twenty dollars 
would be in my possession by the hour I needed it. I had 
not gone far before I was accosted by a man — a good Metho- 
dist — with these words, ' My brother, just stop, I have some- 
thing for you. I had a dream last night. In it I was told 



[ N C ID B N T S A X I) 11 E V I. E C TI X S . f)7 

to let you have twenty dollars, the extra profit of my busi- 
ness last week.' Saying which, lie took from his pocket- 
book four five dollar notes, and laid them down before me. 
I took the money and paid my debt, with an increasing 
confidence in the providence of God." 

Many years ago, a man lived near Freehold, N. J., who 
was an habitual drunkard, and spent much time, particu- 
larly in the evenings and on First-days, with people of like 
habits. This man dreamed one night that he had a fit of 
sickness and died ; and, as he had always expected, after 
death went to hell. Hell did not appear in his dream what 
he had expected to find it, but seemed to him like a very lame 
tavern filled with people. He was so shocked by what he 
saw there that he begged the landlord to let him return to 
earth again ; who, after many entreaties, consented that he 
should, if he would make a solemn promise to return there 
at the end of a year. This the man promised, and awoke. 

The dream filled his mind with great horror; and in the 
morning he went and related it to one of the Tennents.* 
Tennent desired him to reform and lead a new life ; for this 
seemed to be a special warning. 

The man did reform, and for six months avoided his old 
companions. At the expiration of that time he was return- 
ing from work one evening, and "was met by several of them 
near a tavern. They began to ridicule him tor becoming 
religious, and dared him to go in and take one drink with 
them. The man felt confident in his own power over him- 
self, and said he would go in and take one drink to show it 
would not hurt him. He took one drink and then another, 
till he was much intoxicated. From that time he returned 
to his old habits, and grew worse and worse. 

His family lived in the second story of a house, to which 
there was a stair-case on the outside. One night when he 
had drank more than usual, he made shift to get up stairs 
and to bed : but in the morning, when he went out of the 
door to go to work, he was still under the effects of liquor, 
and pitched off the stairs to the ground and broke his neck. 

* Several of the family were Presbyterian ministers in Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey, during last century. 



OS INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

The news was carried to Tennent, who recollected the man's 
dream, and on looking at a memorandum found it wag a 
year that day since the man told it to him. 

Allusion has been made to the Divine warnings extended 
to the careless and disobedient by means of dreams. But 
the Almighty has other ways also of teaching his people. 
His anointed ministers of the Gospel have often been com- 
missioned to " sound an alarm" and call upon the wicked 
to forsake their ways, and to turn unto the Lord and seek 
for pardon for their sins. 

When Stephen Grellet* was travelling in the South of 
France, in the year 1832, he held a religious meeting on 
the day called Christmas, at a place called St. Gilles. The 
meeting was very large, and respecting it, S. G. thus writes : 

"I thought there were pious persons present to whom 
the word of comfort and encouragement was preached ; but 
there were others with whom I did earnestly plead of right- 
eousness, temperance and judgment to come. Whilst I was 
proceeding, my own heart being much affected with the 
awfulness of it, I stated how solemn it was thus to join in 
company with tlmse who are met together to worship God, 
and publicly acknowledge and bow down in spirit before 
Christ Jesus, the Saviour of sinners, who came into the 
world for the very purpose that He might save us from our 
sins. But that, possibly, whilst some keep this day as a 
memorial of the coming in the flesh of the eternal Bon 
of God, thus to be unto us a Saviour and Redeemer, they 
have concluded on and made preparations to spend this 
very evening and night perhaps in a riotous and sinful 
manner. As I was uttering this, a man fell down from his 
seat on the floor. There was some bustle for a short time, 
they carried him out, and I continued to speak, a consider- 
able increase of solemnity appearing over the meeting. 
After the conclusion, I heard the people say to one another, 
' He is dead, he is dead !' I was then told that this very 

' See note, p. 54. 






INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 59 

man had made extensive preparations for a sumptuous 
banquet that night, when a variety of diversions were to be 
introduced ; that on coming, he had boasted how he would 
honor the Lord and sanctify this day by going to a place of 
worship first, • and then close it in feasting and revelling. 
Some persons, hearing him speak so had reproved him for 
it, which he answered by impious expressions. The people 
appeared struck with astonishment at the awfulness of the 
event. I received a deputation from the inhabitants in the 
evening, requesting that I would have another meeting with 
them ; but I did not feel it my place to do so. To the Lord 
and his Spirit, I leave and commit them." 

It is one of the evidences of the Lord's goodness that He 
does not permit those who are rejecting his government to 
go on undisturbed in the way they have chosen, but visits 
them from time to time with the reproofs of his Holy Spirit ; 
and oftentimes by outward warnings and chastisements, calls 
upon them to return to Him in whom alone there is safety 
and peace. An instance of this is related by Elizabeth 
Collins* in her memoirs respecting a person whom she 
knew. Her narrative is as follows : — ■ 

" A singular instance of the love and mercy of Almighty 
God, as also of his just judgment, in the case of a young 
man, happened in my early life. He lived at a public 
house, and was one who took great delight in company, 
vanity, and horse-racing. One day, as he and one of his 
companions were running horses, at the end of the race- 
ground he was dashed with great violence against a tree, 
the horse taking the opposite side from that he expected 
to go, which brought his head directly against the tree. He 
was taken up and carried into a house for dead. A doctor 
was sent for, who gave no encouragement of his recovery ; 
but after a time he revived, and in a few clays recovered his 
understanding. 

* A minister of Upper Evesham, New Jersey. Born in 1755, died in 
1831. See Memoirs in Friends' Library, vol. 11, p. 450. 



60 IX CI DENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

" Oh ! the distress and anguish he was then in, having no 
other prospect but shortly to be summoned before an of- 
fended God, to receive the sentence, ' Depart from me, thou 
worker of iniquity.' Bitter were his moans, and sore his 
lamentations, and fervent his cries for mercy. I went to 
see him in his distress, when it was not in the power of man 
to relieve him. His petitions were for mercy and for time : 
he asked only for one year, that he might live a new life, 
be an example and warning to his companions, and honor 
and glorify his God and Creator. The Lord in mercy heard 
his petition, and in great condescension granted his request, 
even to a miracle, as it was thought impossible for him to 
be raised, and gave him not only one year but several. 

"For a time he lived a sober, watchful and orderly life, 
but for want of breaking off from his old companions, and 
living a more retired life, he at length, by little and little, 
fell away, and got into the same paths of folly and dissipa- 
tion. He was not, however, suffered to go on long in this 
way, for one evening, as he was riding with several of his 
companions, one of whom he expected to be joined in mar- 
riage with in a few days, his horse, without any fright that 
they could discover, ran off, threw him in the road and 
killed him. I was told he never drew breath after they 
reached him, that they could discover. This event happened 
in the evening, after spending the First-day afternoon in 
lightness and vanity. 

"As this solemn instance of Divine mercy and justice has 
from time to time been revived in my remembrance, I have 
thought it best to commit it to writing, as a caution and 
warning to my dear children, to beware of loose and un- 
profitable company, and of breaking their covenants." 

Daniel Stanton* mentions in his Journal that some great 
men in Philadelphia were concerned in fitting out vessels 
for the wicked business of privateering. This brought a 
deep engagement on his mind, and it came upon him as a 
weighty duty, to go to one of these men, faithfully to warn 

* See note, p. 34. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 61 

him against this unrighteous way of getting riches. He 

says : — 

"I got a friend to accompany me, and cleared my spirit 
of a heavy burden : he pleaded for the practice, but used 
me civilly. A new vessel was fitted out sometime after, 
called the Tartar, which was much talked of to do great 
matters in privateering ; but, as I have been informed, she 
sunk before she got out to sea, and many or most of the 
people on board were drowned. I had peace of mind for 
having discharged my duty, although I much lamented the 
unhappy circumstances of these poor fellow-mortals, losing 
their lives in such an evil undertaking." 

Anna Shipton* in one of her works, describes the case 
of a poor laboring man whom she knew, who was one of 
those who are rich in faith. He went to live in a village 
where few, if any, cared for much beyond this present life. 
His home here was a poor thatched cottage on the outskirts 
of the village ; and when his day's work was done, seated 
by the low casement of his room, in summer time, he held 
communion with his Heavenly Friend. 

As he communed with God aloud, and poured forth his 
soul in prayer, a woman of ill character passed by the cot- 
tage door ; the sound of his voice arrested her steps, and she 
lingered by the casement, and listened. It was a new lan- 
guage to her ears, and she went on her way, astonished and 
perplexed. Her occupation was a degrading one. She pos- 
sessed a voice of remarkable power and sweetness ; her hus- 
band frequented the taverns in the neighborhood, and she 
accompanied him, and by her songs procured from the 
landlord or his guests, the liquor that he thirsted for. 

Day by da3 r , the singer marked this humble disciple of 
Christ, to see if his life corresponded with the desires after 
holiness expressed in his prayers. She watched for his 
halting, week after week, but watched in vain. He probably 
passed through many a conflict ; and in humble brokenness 
of spirit may have felt himself but a cumberer of the 
ground, as far as bringing any honor to God was concerned ; 

* See note, p. 15. 



62 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

and lie little dreamed that the Lord was making use of his 
unconscious ministry, and his example, to disturb the orgies 
of sinners to whom he had never spoken and who had never 
heard of his existence. The woman's heart became heavy, 
and she could not sing. Under Divine conviction for sin, 
she turned away in bitterness of spirit from the scenes in 
which she had before been content to dwell. The anger of 
her husband was kindled against her ; his gains were gone, 
and the means of procuring his evening's unholy revelry 
were over. His persecution added to her distress. The 
burthen of her sins pressed heavily upon her, and there 
seemed no way of escape. Satan whispered that " in death 
there was no remembrance;" but he added not, "and after 
death the judgment." 

Despairing of relief, she determined to rid herself of a 
life which had become intolerable to her. One morning, 
when she thought herself secure from interruption, she went 
to a neighboring stable, prepared to end an existence too 
miserable to be borne. But at that awful moment there 
came into her mind the expressions of praise which she had 
overheard from the poor laborer, and his heartfelt thanks- 
giving for redemption through the precious blood of Jesus, 
She, too, knelt in prayer, the floodgates of her tears were 
opened, and a sweet sense of the pardoning mercy of God 
in Christ Jesus came over her mind. The prey was taken 
from the mighty and the captive delivered. When evening 
came, and the good man who had been an instrument in the 
Lord's hand in awakening conviction in her heart, returned 
to his cottage, he found her there — rejoicing in the mercy 
of which she had partaken — the fruit of those days that 
seemed of no account, save that he walked in fellowship 
with Jesus. He had lived near the fountain ; the stream 
that flowed in refreshment through his own soul, had been 
used to awaken the life in another. 

An aged widow woman lived in the city of Lyons. Her 
parents were very poor, and her husband had nothing but 
his industry to depend on. As long, however, as he was 
able to work, they honestly gained their daily bread, though 
they were never able to put anything by for a rainy day ; 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 03 

but, when the old man died, leaving his poor widow child- 
less and infirm, want entered her desolate dwelling as an 
armed man. She sold everything but what was indispen- 
sable, and removed to a miserable garret to spend the 
remainder of her days. 

One day, as she was sitting alone in her comfortless, half- 
empty room, it struck her that there was a singular outline 
on the beams of the wall. The walls had been whitewashed, 
but she thought it looked as if there had been a square 
opening in one of them, which had been carefully closed 
with a kind of door. She examined it closely, and the 
thought occurred to her, " Perhaps there is some treasure 
hidden there ;" for she remembered as a child the fearful 
days of the Revolution, when no properly was safe from 
the men of liberty and equality. Perhaps some rich man 
had concealed his treasure there from rapacity, who had 
himself fallen a victim to the Revolution before he had 
time to remove it. She tapjied with her finger and the 
boards returned a hollow sound. With beating heart 
she tried to remove the square door, and soon succeeded, 
without much difficulty ; but, alas ! instead of the gold 
and silver she hoped to see, she beheld a damp, dirty, 
mouldy old book ! In her disappointment she was ready 
to fix in the boards again, and leave the book to moulder 
and crumble away; but a secret impulse induced her to 
take it out, and see if there were any bank-notes or valuable 
papers in it ; but no, it was nothing but a book, a mouldy 
bodk! 

When she had a little recovered from her vexation, she 
began to wonder what book it could be that some one had 
hidden away so carefully. It must surely be something 
extraordinary. So she wiped it clean and set herself to 
read. Her eyes fell upon the words : " Therefore I say 
unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, 
or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye 
shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body 
than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow 
not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your 
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better 



<!4 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

than they ?" And the words that she read appeared to her 
so sweet and precious that she read on and on. The next 
morning she sat down again to the damp old book, the 
words of which made a deep impression on her soul. Her 
little chamber no longer looked so desolate. Her food, 
which had so often seemed to her as the bread of tears, now 
appeared to be more like bread from heaven ; and her soli- 
tude was relieved by the presence of the great King. 

She had the book cleaned and bound, and it was to her 
as meat and drink, until she was permitted to close her 
eyes and enter into the joys of her Lord. She related this 
history in the latter days of her pilgrimage, to a beloved 
pastor in Lyons. It is Amelotte's edition of the New Tes- 
tament, of the time of the Huguenot persecution. 

Our blessed Saviour commanded his hearers, " Let your 
light so shine before men, that others seeing your good 
works may glorify your Father who is in Heaven." The 
example of an upright Christian, is often a more powerful 
means of convincing others of the reality of religion and of 
inducing them to yield to the convictions of the Spirit of 
Christ, than any preaching. 

The Young Mens Christian Magazine describes the case 
of a young man who had become an infidel, and rejected 
the Bible and its teachings. In his father's house a young 
woman resided who was a relative of the family. Her 
fretful temper made all around her uncomfortable. She 
was sent to a boarding school, and was absent some time. 
While there she became a true and earnest Christian. On 
her return she was so changed that all who knew her won- 
dered and rejoiced. She was patient and cheerful, kind, 
unselfish and charitable. The lips that used to be always 
uttering cross and bitter words, now spoke nothing but sweet, 
gentle loving words. Her infidel cousin George was greatly 
surprised at this. He watched her closely for some time, 
till he was thoroughly satisfied that it was a real change that 
had taken place in his young cousin. Then he asked her 
what had caused this great change. She told him it was 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 65 

the grace of God which had made her a Christian and had 
changed her heart. 

He said to himself, " I don't believe that God has any- 
thing to do with it, though she thinks He has. But it is a 
wonderful change that has taken place in her, and I should 
like to be as good as she is. I will be so." Then he formed 
a set of good resolutions. He tried to control bis tongue and 
his temper, and keep a strict watch over himself. He was 
all the time doing and saying what he did not wish to do 
and say. And as he failed time after time, he would turn 
and study his good cousin's example. He said to himself, 
" How does it happen that she, who has not as much knowl- 
edge or as much strength of character as I have, can do 
what I can't do? She must have some help that I don't 
know of. It must be as she says the help of God. I will 
seek that help." 

His seeking was not in vain ; for He who is long-suffering, 
and abundant in mercy, was pleased to hear and answer his 
petitions. 

A somewhat similar incident is related of one who had 
gone to live with her aunt when she was a self-willed, 
thoughtless, headstrong young girl, leaving the house of 
her parents because they opposed her marriage to a young 
man who proved, as she soon found, entirely unworthy of 
her love. The aunt who was a Christian in life as well as 
in profession, received her lovingly, and with patient and 
gentle kindness and good sense, gradually led her to see 
the error of her course, and to receive in love the lessons 
she endeavored to impress, till in the end they brought 
forth fruit an hundredfold, and the niece became a warm- 
hearted and faithful Christian. And, when some one asked, 
" under whose preaching was she converted," with a smile 
she replied, " Under nobody's preaching, it was under Aunt 
Mary's practising." 

A writer in referring to this incident, remarks, " There is 
a world of meaning in the answer, for example is ever more 
powerful than precept, and a holy life is the mightiest of 
all arguments for religion. ' It wasn't master's sermons, 



00 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

but it was master's life that did it,' said a servant — who 
had been awakened to think of her sin — of her master who 
was a clergyman. Christian reader can it be said of us 
that our home life is a daily sermon which every one in 
the house can read ?" 

An anecdote is told of a native of Madagascar, who had 
embraced Christianity ; and who was asked by a sea-captain 
what it was that first led him to become a Christian. " Was 
it any particular sermon you heard, or book which you 
read ?" 

" No, my friend," replied the chief, " it was no book or 
sermon. One man, he a wicked thief; another man he 
drunk all day long ; big chief, he beat his wife and children. 
Now thief, he no steal ; drunken Tom, he sober; big chief, 
he very kind to his family. Every heathen man get some- 
thing inside him, which makes him different, so I became 
a Christian too, to know how it feel to have something 
strong inside of me to keep me from being bad." 

While good example does exert an influence over others 
for good, there are many mournful illustrations of the truth, 
that a conduct inconsistent with his profession in a professor 
of religion, is often very hurtful to others. Ford describes 
the case of a man, whom he visited on his dying bed, and 
who passed away from this life in a state of despair. He 
ascribed the ruin of his soul to a popular preacher, who, 
on some public occasion, he heard deliver a sermon which 
deeply affected him ; and whom at the close of the service, 
he was delighted to meet at the house of a mutual friend. 
But great was his disappointment ; the individual, who, in 
the pulpit was a Boanerges, in the parlor played the mounte- 
bank, and in either character seemed perfectly " at home." 
His adventures, jokes and anecdotes kept the company till 
past midnight in a roar of laughter. The consequence may 
be easily imagined. The unhappy man who was doomed to 



I N C I 1) E N T S AND R B V L B C T 1 N B . 67 

witness that incongruous scene, pursuaded himself that Chris- 
tianity was disbelieved by its professional advocates, and 
henceforth he treated it as unworthy of notice. 

Dr. Dwight relates that a man of his acquaintance who 
had a vehement and rigid temper, had a dispute with a 
friend of his, a professor of religion, and had been injured 
by him. With feelings of resentment he made him a visit 
for the avowed purpose of quarrelling with him. He ac- 
cordingly stated to him the nature and extent of the injury 
done him, and was preparing, as he afterwards confessed, to 
load him with a train of severe reproaches, when his friend 
cut him short by acknowledging, with the utmost readiness 
and frankness, the injustice of which he had been guilty, 
expressing his own regret for the wrong which he had done, 
requesting his forgiveness, and offering him ample compensa- 
tion. He was compelled to say he was satisfied, and with- 
drew full of mortification that he had been precluded 
from venting his indignation, and wounding his friend with 
keen and violent reproaches for his conduct. As he was 
walking home he said to himself: " There must be more in 
religion than I have hitherto suspected. Were any to 
address me in the tone of haughtiness and provocation, with 
which I accosted my friend this evening, it would be impos- 
sible for me to preserve the equanimity of which I have 
been a witness, and especially with so much frankness, 
humility and meekness to ackiwivledge the wrong which I 
had done ; so readily ask forgiveness of the man whom I 
had injured, and so cheerfully promise a satisfactory recom- 
pense. I should have met his anger by anger, &c. There 
is something in religion that I have hitherto been a stranger 
to." He soon after became a Christian. 

An illustration of the power of an upright Christian life 
in convincing others, was related as follows in the Christian 
Advocate : — 

" A plain, earnest Christian was recently rehearsing in 
our presence the circumstances by which he was providen- 
tially led to an experimental knowledge of Christ. Years 



68 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

ago he had been employed as a common laborer on a farm 
owned by a well-known local preacher of Central New Jer- 
sey. He was at that time a confirmed rationalist, having 
a few months before emigrated from Germany. He saw 
how his employer consecrated his means in aiding churches 
in that vicinity and in adjacent communities; how he earn- 
nestly sought to save souls ; how he was the friend of the 
disconsolate and the needy ; how he encouraged education 
and promoted the circulation of a healthful literature; how 
he stood foremost in temperance reforms, declining civil pre- 
ferments when offered by a political party under the domi- 
nation of rum ; and how he stood firm fur the protection of 
the poor slave when a fugitive fleeing from human bondage. 
Under circumstances which carried an almost irresistible 
influence he became powerfully impressed with the reality 
of religion. He bowed before the cross. He experienced 
the saving power of that Gospel which he had once despised. 
The memory of that employer can never fade away. He 
delights in nothing more than to speak of his tender associa- 
tions during those months of toil. " He has gone," said he, 
" gone to dwell with Christ and with the redeemed in heaven, 
and I will meet him there by and by." 

Some years ago a young man, who gave clear evidence 
that he was truly a suhjcct of the regenerating grace of 
God, was asked what had led to the change in him, as he 
had been wild and thoughtless. Was it any sermon or 
book that had impressed him ? He answered, " No !" " What 
was it, then ? Did any one speak to you specially on the 
subject of religion '?" The same response was given. 

" Will you, then, state what first led you to think of your 
soul's eternal welfare?" The reply was : 

" I live in the same boarding-house and eat at the same 
table with J. Y." 

" Well, did he ever talk to you about your soul ?" 

" No, never till I sought an interview with him," was the 
reply. " But," he continued, " there was a sweetness in his 
disposition, a heavenly-mindedness, a holy aroma about his 
whole life and demeanor, that made one feel that he had a 
source of comfort and peace and happiness to which I was 



INCIDENTS AND RE P L B C T IONS. 69 

a stranger. There was a daily beauty in his life that made 
me ugly. I became more and rnore dissatisfied with myself 
every time I saw him ; and though, as I said, he never spoke 
to me on the subject of personal religion till I myself sought 
the interview, yet his whole life was a constant sermon to 
me." 

It has often been said that there is no preaching more 
effective than that of a truly godly life. As an illustration 
of its power, the following incident is narrated. 

One of the largest hospitals in a city in the south of 
France, had a matron who was a faithful follower of the 
Lord. She had learned by grace, that a meek and quiet 
spirit was of great price in the sight of Him who was meek 
and lowly of heart. 

On one occasion a patient, angry at a rule of the hospital 
being enforced, spat in the matron's face, in the presence of 
the assembled ward ; she quietly wiped her face, saying, " I 
have been greatly honored to share the indignity offered to 
my blessed Saviour." The outrage was never repeated. 

Afterwards, when a new patient was admitted, and placed 
in bed, the matron sent her daughter to remove the appar- 
el from the ward to another apartment, as no clothing was 
allowed to be retained in the sleeping room. As the young 
girl stooped to gather the clothing together, the woman, 
enraged that it should be removed, bent over her and rais- 
ing one of her heavy wooden shoes, struck her violently 
and repeatedly on the back. 

All looked on in wonder and dismay at this undeserved 
cruelty to one who had never offended, feeling that this 
must touch the mother's heart far more severely than any 
indignity offered to herself. The matron calmly continued 
her duties. In the evening the culprit beheld her approach 
her bed. She waited for some word of reproach — none 
came ; for some expression of displeasure on her face — none 
was seen. Carefully she arranged the pillows, tenderly she 
spoke to the woman while performing offices of kindness. 
The heart of the harsh and violent woman melted. She 
watched and listened to the matron as from day to day she 



70 I N C EDEN T S A N D R E F L E C T T N S . 

ministered of the "good thing-;" promised by her Heavenly 
Father. Before leaving the hospital she declared that the 
meek forgiveness of injury thus manifested by one who 
walked with God, had broken her heart, and prepared her 
to follow in the foot steps of the flock of Christ's companions. 

It is related that the captain of a vessel sailing down the 
Mississippi, had his vessel so injured that there was meat 
danger of losing both vessel and cargo. He was a pious 
man, and though placed in this perilous position, manifested 
a composure which evidenced that his mind was staved 
upon God, while at the same time he omitted nothing that 
could be done to save the property entrusted to his care. 
While things were in this situation, there came to his aid 
one of the pilots on that station, who, by his own account, 
neither feared God nor regarded man. After offering his 
services, he began to storm and swear. After a little time, 
however, he began to contrast his own conduct with that of 
the captain, and said to himself, " How is it, that while I 
have nothing at risk I am swearing as though it were mine ? 
And the captain, who has property and reputation at stake, 
seems perfectly calm ? It must be his religion, and as I 
have a Bible on board my boat, I will commence reading 
it, and see if I can find what his religion is." 

The conviction of his own sinfulness, forced upon him by 
the contrast with the consistent course of the captain, was 
the commencement of a change for the better, and through 
the power of Divine Grace, he was enabled to forsake the 
evil of his ways and to live a more Godly life. He after- 
wards called upon the captain and informed him of what 
the Lord had done for his soul. 

It is a common remark that the blood of the martyrs is 
the seed of the church ; for nothing so convinces beholders 
of the value of the religious principles professed as to see 
men patiently enduring suffering and death rather than 
desert them. It is indeed a strong proof of the value of 
that crown of righteousness laid up in store for those who 
endure to the end. One Adrianus, in ancient times, seeing 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 71 

the martyrs suffer such grievous things in the cause of 
Christ, asked, " What is that which enables them to bear 
such suffering?" One of them replied, " Eye hath not seen, 
nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, 
the things which God hath prepared for them that love 
Him." So powerful was the effect of these words, and such 
the conviction sealed by the Holy Spirit on the mind of 
Adrianus, that he became a convert to Christianity, and 
himself suffered martyrdom. 

In a conversation at a tea-table on religious subjects, one 
of the company stated that when he was a young man of 
about eighteen, he was a clerk in Boston, and his room- 
mates at the boarding-house were clerks of the same age. 
When First-day morning came, during the hours between 
breakfast and meeting-time, he said : " I felt a secret desire 
to get a Bible, which my mother had given me, out of my 
trunk, and read in it, but I was afraid to do so before my 
messmates, who were reading miscellaneous books. At last 
my conscience got the mastery, and I rose up and went to my 
trunk. I had half raised it when the thought occurred to 
me that it might look like over-sanctity or pharisaical, so I 
shut my trunk and returned to the window. — For twenty 
minutes I was miserably at ease. I felt I was doing wrong. 
I started a second time for my trunk, and had my hand on 
my Bible, when the fear of being laughed at conquered the 
better emotion, and I again dropped the top of my trunk. 
As I turned away from it, one of my room-mates, who ob- 
served my irresolute movements, said laughingly : 

" ' I say, what's the matter ? You seem as restless as a 
weathercock ! ' 

" I replied by laughing in my turn ; and then conceiving 
the truth to be the best, frankly told him what was the 
matter. To my surprise and delight, they both spoke up 
and averred that they had Bibles in their trunks, and had 
been secretly wishing to read in them, but were afraid to take 
them out lest I should laugh at them." The result was that 
all three took out their Bibles. 



72 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

The next First-day morning, two of their fellow boarders 
came into the room, and finding how they were engaged, 
requested that a chapter be read aloud. That evening the 
thi'ee room-mates agreed to have a chapter read every night 
in their room. A few evenings after, four or five of the 
other boarders happened to be in the room talking when 
the nine o'clock bell rang. One of the room-mates opened 
the Bible, and another explained to their visitors their 
custom. " We'll all stay and listen," they said. 

The practice spread, till finally every one of the sixteen 
clerks boarding in the house spent his First-day mornings 
in reading the Bible, and the moral effect on the family 
was of the highest character. 

F. N. Zabriskie, in an article on the unconscious influence 
which we exert over each other, mentions the case of a 
woman who had occasion to stop for a moment in the street 
to speak to a mechanic, and walked on, the interview 
quickly passing from her mind. A year after he came and 
told her that he had not touched a drop of liquor since 
that day. She wondered why he should tell her of it, until 
informed that on that occasion she had stepped a little aside 
while talking with him, — as he supposed, because his breath 
was offensive to her from the fumes of liquor. He had 
instantly said to himself, with a sudden consciousness of 
degradation: "Have I reached the point where this lady 
shrinks from me as from one unclean? It is time for me 
to stop short ! " She surprised him by saying that her move- 
ment had no such motive. But the effect had been the 
same, and her unconscious influence had done more to 
sober him than a good many temperance lectures would 
probably have done. 

When we reflect on the wide-reaching extent of the in- 
fluence we exert over one another, and the unexpected way 
in which it often operates, we can appreciate the force of 
the following caution : — " One can no more escape from 
the obligation of guarding his personal influence at all times 
and in all places than he can escape from the necessity 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 78 

of breathing. There is no moment in conscious life when 
a man should not be on guard for the right use of his per- 
sonality, any more than there is any moment when the 
heart should cease, for a time, to beat, and for nerve and 
brain to become paralyzed." 

A valued friend many years ago related to me an occur- 
rence in his own early experience, which shows how greal is 
the responsibility which rests upon all for the influence they 
exert over others. 

When a boy he was placed in the employment of a mer- 
cantile firm, one of whose partners was a Presbyterian. My 
friend had been brought up to the regular attendance of 
meetings on week-days as well as First-days, and conscien- 
tiously believed it his duty to be faithful in this matter. 
But he soon found that his new master was unwilling to 
spare him from his store duties for that purpose, telling him 
he might go to meetings on First-days, and in the evenings, 
but that business hours belonged to his employer, and must 
not be diverted from attention to his interests. The boy 
was thus brought under deep trial and conflict to know his 
real duty in the position in which he was placed, and ear- 
nestly prayed to his Heavenly Father for light and strength. 

On the morning of week-day meeting, he was told to un- 
pack an invoice of goods recently received from China, 
evidently with the intention on the part of his employer, 
that there should be no opportunity for going to the place 
of worship ; and soon after received a sample-card of a case 
of Chinese buttons which was in the invoice, and a list of 
persons in the city who dealt in such goods ; and was sent 
out to endeavor to effect a sale. 

Pleased with the commission with which he was entrusted, 
our young friend went from one store to another, but met 
with no success — none were in want of the article, and he 
was told that a new style of buttons had been latterly intro- 
duced which had largely superseded the Chinese article. 
Somewhat discouraged by these continued rebuffs, he found 
himself at the end of his list of names, at the store of a mer- 



74 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

chant, as I think, in Second Street, near Vine, and close to 
the meeting of Friends, then held in New Street (or Keys' 
Alley ) below Second Street. This last merchant was, like 
the others, unwilling to purchase, but gave permission to 
the boy to leave his card on the store counter, while he 
went to the meeting to wait upon the Lord, and receive from 
Him comfort and help in his troubles. 

While he was thus communing with his Creator, a person 
entered the store of the merchant, picked up the sample- 
card of buttons, was pleased with some of the patterns, and 
asked the storekeeper if he had those buttons in stock. The 
storekeeper replied that he could furnish him with any of 
those represented on the card ; and accepted an order for 
some of them which was given him by his customer. 

On the return of the boy from meeting, to claim his card, 
the merchant told him that he had changed his mind, and 
would take part of the case offered him. He was told that 
the case was not to bo divided ; so, as he had already sold 
a part, he agreed to purchase the whole, and our friend re- 
turned to bis own establishment, much gratified with the 
events of the morning. 

( )n entering the store, he said to his employer, that he had 
sold the case of buttons. He was pleased to hear it, and 
remarked, " That was much better than going to meeting," 
"I did go to meeting." was the reply, "and if I had not 
gone, I *vould not have sold the buttons." From that time 
forward, the subject of meeting was never mentioned, nor 
was any allusion made to what had occurred, but it was 
well understood that no opposition should be made to the 
performance of his religious duty in this respect. 

Year$ rolled on, and the time came in which his former 
master felt that he was drawing near to the dark valley of the 
shadow of death. He lingered for some months in declining 
health ; and during this time, his former boy, now his faith- 
ful friend, was often with him, nursing and caring for him. 
At this period, for the first time, he referred to their former 
conflict, saving:, in substance, to my friend — " I cannot tell 
you how thankful I feel that you were faithful to your con- 
victions, and did what vou believed to be right. If vou had 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. Yd 

given up your meetings, in deference to my wishes, and 
violated your conscience, it might have been the beginning 
of a downward course for you ; and now, with the prospect 
of death before me, I might feel that your blood was re- 
quired at my hands." 

Among the means used by our Father in Heaven for 
directing the 'Steps of the young in the right way, are the 
counsels and prayers of Godly parents. 

The folio wing tribute to his mother, by the late Thomas 
H. Benton,* who was long in public life and exposed to 
many temptations, shows the value of the influence which 
she exerted over him. 

" My mother asked me never to use any tobacco, and I 
have never touched it from that time to the present day ; 
she asked me not to game, and I have not, and I cannot 
tell who is winning or who is losing in games that can be 
played. She admonished me, too, against hard drinking, 
and whatever capacity for endurance I may have at present, 
and whatever usefulness I may attain in life, I attribute it 
to having complied with her pious- and correct wishes. 
When I was seven years of age she asked me not to drink, 
and then I made a resolution of total abstinence, at a time 
when I Avas sole constituent member of my own body, and 
that I have adhered to it through all the time, I owe to 
my mother." 

The labors, prayers and tears of pious parents for their 
offspring are often blessed, even though they may be for a 
time rejected, and apparently of no use. 

Some years ago, a coachman was living in a gentleman's 
family near London. He had good wages, a kind master 
and a comfortable place, but there was one thing which 
troubled and annoyed him. It was that his old mother 
lived in a village close by, and from her he had constant 

* A native of North Carolina. For thirty years he represented the 
State of Missouri in the Senate of the United States. He was the 
author of several historical works. Born in 1782, died in 1858. 



76 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

visits. You may wonder that this was such a trouble to 
him, but the reason was that whenever she came she spoke 
to him about Christ and the salvation of his soul. " Mother," 
he at last said, " I cannot stand this any longer. Unless 
you drop that subject altogether I shall give up my place 
and go out of your reach, when I shall hear no more of 
such cant." " My son," said his mother, " as long as I have 
a tongue I shall never cease to speak to you about the 
Lord, and to the Lord about you." The young coachman 
was as good as his word. He wrote to a friend in the high- 
lands of Scotland and asked him to find him a place in that 
part of the world. He knew that his mother could not 
write and could not follow him, and though he was sorry to 
lose a ffood place he said to himself, " Anything for a quiet 
life." "His friend soon got him a place in a gentleman's 
stable, and he did not hide from his mother that he was 
glad and thankful to get out of her way. 

The coachman was ordered to drive out the carriage and 
pair the first day after his arrival in Scotland. His master 
did not get into the carriage with the rest of the party, but 
said he meant to go on the box instead of the footman. 
" He wishes to see how I drive," thought the coachman, who 
was quite prepared to give satisfaction. Scarcely had they 
driven from the door when the master spoke to the coach- 
man for the first time. He said, " Tell me if you are saved." 
Had the Lord come to the coachman direct from heaven it 
could searely have struck him with greater consternation. 
He simply felt terrified. " God has followed me to Scotland," 
he said to himself. " I could get away from my mother, 
. but I cannot jjet away from God." And at that moment he 
knew what Adam must have felt when he went to hide 
himself from the presence of God behind the trees of the 
garden. He could make no answer to his master, and 
scarcely could he drive the horses, for he trembled from 
head to foot. 

His master went on to speak of Christ, and again he 
heard the old, old story, so often told him by his mother. 
But this time it sounded new. It had become a real thing 
to him. It did not seem then to be glad tidings of great 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 77 

joy, but a message of terror and condemnation. He felt 
that it was Christ, the Son of God, whom he had rejected 
and despised. He felt that he was a sinner. By the time 
the drive was over he was so ill from the terrible fear that 
had come upon him that he could do nothing else. For 
some days he could not leave his bed, but they were blessed 
days to him. He came as the poor prodigal, with the cry, 
"Be merciful to me, a sinner;" and as he submitted to the 
work of grace in, his heart, he was favored to feel that there 
was hope for him in the mercy of God, through Christ 
Jesus. 

The first letter he wrote to his mother from Scotland, 
contained the joyful news of the change in his purposes and 
feelings. 

The effect upon others of an upright, consistent life is 
very great. But when a professor of religion, however 
zealous in some things, shows a self-indulgence or want of 
faithfulness in other matters, it sadly mars the good that he 
might have done. If his " candle" is really lighted, it is so 
"hid under a bushel" that others do not glorify our Father 
in Heaven on his account. 

An incident related by John Richardson* as having 
happened in Virginia, some time before his visit to that 
country, illustrates how certainly those who are unfaithful 
to their own profession forfeit the esteem and respect of 
sensible men. He says : 

" The. governor wanted a cooper to mend his wine, cider 
and ale casks, and some told him there was a workman 
near, but he was a Quaker ; he said if he was a workman, 
he made no matter what he professed : so the Quaker, such 
as he was, was sent for, and came with his hat under his 
arm. The governor was somewhat at a stand to see the 
man come in after that manner, and asked if he was the 

* A native of Yorkshire, England. Died in 1753, in the eighty-seventh 
year of his age. He twice visited America in the service of the Gospel. 
See Life in Friends Library, vol. 4, p. CO, etc. 



/ 8 I N C I D E N T S AND It E V L E C T I N S . 

cooper he had sent for? He said, Yes. Well, said the gov- 
ernor are you not a Quaker? Yes, replied the man, I am 
so called, hut I have not been faithful. He then asked, 
How long have you been called a Quaker ? The poor man 
said, About twenty years. Alas for you poor man ! said 
the governor, I am sorry for you. 

" By this we may clearly see, that such who walk most 
up to what they profess, are in most esteem among the more 
thinking and religious people ; and the unfaithful and loose 
libertine professors of Truth are slighted, and I believe will 
be more and more cast out as the unsavory salt, which is 
good for naught in religion, and is indeed trodden under 
the feet of men." 

John Churchman* mentions an incident which occurred 
probably in his early childhood, and which illustrates the 
need of watchfulness over their conduct even in little mat- 
ters, by those who make a profession of religion. He says : 

" I remember a person was once at my father's, who spoke 
about religious matters with an affected tone, as if he was a 
good man ; and when he mounted his horse to go away, 
taking a dislike to some of his motions, he called him an 
ugly dumb beast, with an accent which bespoke great dis- 
pleasure, and grieved me much. I believed that a man 
whose mind was sweetened with Divine love, would not 
speak wrathfully or diminutively, even of the beasts of the 
field, which were given to man for his use : and I relate 
this instance as a warning to be careful of giving offence to 
the little ones." 

Another passage in the Journal of John Churchman 
shows his care to practise that consistency in his own case, 
which he recommended to others. In 1761, he had a con- 
cern to pay a religious visit to Barbadoes, and some of the 
adjacent islands, and says : " I went to Philadelphia, to 
inquire for a passage, when my friends informed me of five 
vessels, three of which were nearly ready to sail ; but under- 
standing that all of them were prepared with guns for defence 

*.See note, p. 14. 



[NCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 7!) 

I felt a secret exercise on my mind, so that I could not go 
to see any of them. I kept quiet from Sixth-day evening 
until Second-day morning, when I went to the meeting of 

ministers and elders, where I had a freedom to let Friends 
know, 'That I came to town in order to take my passage 
for Barbadoes, but found myself not at liberty to go in any 
of those vessels, because they carried arms for defence ; for as 
my motive in going was to publish " the glad tidings of the 
Gospel, which teacheth love to all men," I could not go 
with those- who were prepared to destroy men, whom Christ 
Jesus, our Lord and Master, laid down his life to save, and 
to deliver from that spirit in which wars and fightings 
stand.' I further added, " If I had a concern to visit in 
Gospel love, those now living at Pittsburg or Fort Duquesne, 
do you think it would become me to go in company with 
a band of soldiers, as if I wanted the arm of flesh to guard 
me; would it not be more becoming to go with a few simple 
unarmed men ? I now tenderly desire your sympathy and 
advice.' One honest Friend said, ' Keep to the tender scru- 
ple in thy own mind, for it rejoices me to hear it ;' and 
several said they believed it would be best for me to mind 
my own freedom. 

I then begged that Friends would consider weightily 
whether it was right for any professing with us, to be own- 
ers, or part owners, charterers, freighters or insurers of 
vessels that a Friend could not be free to go passenger 
in on a gospel message. As I returned to my lodgings, I 
felt so much peace of mind in thus bearing my testimony, 
that I thought if my concern ended therein, it was worth 
all my trouble, though at that time I did not think it w T ould, 
yet was quite easy to return home and wait until my w T ay 
appeared more open. As my concern went off in this man- 
ner, I have been since led to consider that I could not have 
borne that testimony so fully and feelingly, if I had not 
been thus restrained." 

It is said that William Romaine* was one evening invited 

* An English clergyman ; the author of many treatises oiv religion 
and theology. Born in 1714, died in 1795. There have been many 
editions of his works; especially of his treatises on Faith. 



80 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

to a friend's house to tea, and after the tea things were 
removed, the woman of the house asked him to play at 
cards, to which he made no objections. The cards were pro- 
duced, and when all were ready to commence the play, the 
venerable minister said : " Let us ask the blessing of God." 

"Ask the blessing of God?" said the woman in great 
surprise ; " I never heard of such a thing at a game of cards." 

Romaine then inquired, " Ought we to engage in anything 
on which we cannot ask his blessing ?" This gentle reproof 
put an end to the card playing. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Obedience Essential. .Secret Society. Use of Wine. First-day Train. 
Samuel Xeale's Cunning. Wine Merchant. Beer Saloon. The Clerk 
who could not Swear. James Kennedy. The Man who would not 
Travel on First-days. Fruits of Disobedience. Resisting Conviction. 
Jane Pierce's Friend. John Churchman. Job Scott. Joseph Hoag. 
Work of Regeneration. John Richardson. Job Scott. Samuel Neale. 
A Stratagem of Satan. Thomas Kllwood. John Griffith. John Thorp's 
Advice. James Naylor's Testimony. Source of Spiritual Knowledge. 
John Cowper. David Ferris. Thomas Story. " What will become 
of Us?" Taulerus. Danger of Delays. Hannah Gibbons. Joseph 
Hoag. The Travelling Salesman. The Man without Hope. A Ne- 
glected Duty. Elizabeth Collins. 

The operations of the Spirit of Christ in the heart of man, 
are designed to bring him into a state of purity and accept- 
ance with his Heavenly Father, in which he may know a 
holy communion with Him, and feel that precious peace 
which is bestowed upon the true-hearted followers of Christ. 
A very little thing — a small withholding of full submission 
— is sufficient to prevent the reception of the Divine bless- 
ings. How light and impalpable is fog or mist, and yet 
how completely it will hide the sun and interpose a barrier 
to the shining of his rays upon us ! 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 81 

A writer in TJie Earnest Christian says, that coming under 
religious conviction, he believed it right to resign his con- 
nection with a secret society of which he was a member. 
But he fought against the Light of Christ which pointed 
out to him this evil in his ways. "I was willing," he adds, 
" to give up anything or everything but that lodge — it seemed 
impossible to abandon it ; I had so built on it. Was I not 
providing for my wife and family ? I saw members of nearly 
all the churches identified with one order or another. Why 
should God require such a sacrifice at my hands? But He 
did. Oh, how I struggled and fought with my conscience." 
For want of yielding to the manifestations of the Light, he 
went backward in religious things, falling into one after 
another of the old habits which he had once forsaken, until 
he became wretched, without joy, or hope, or peace. " In- 
wardly," he says, " I knew what was the matter. I knew 
no person could help me. I had the Light, but was too 
great a coward to walk in it. None but God knows the 
wretched months that I passed." 

At length under a fresh visitation of Divine Grace, he 
was induced to seriously consider his situation. He says : 
" It was plainly set before me : Either hold on to the lodge, 
carry about this load of misery and wretchedness, perhaps 
enjoy the good opinion of the world in a measure, and 
finally lose my soul ; or by God's assisting grace, give up 
my lodge, come out and be separate, and touch not the 
unclean thing, and do what I knew was my whole duty." 
Yielding to the conviction with which he was favored, and 
giving up that which had been shown to him to be evil, 
peace and joy followed, and the gracious promises were 
brought to remembrance — " I will never leave thee nor 
forsake thee," " They that put their trust in me shall never 
be confounded," and many others. 

Whatever passes as a cloud between 
The mental eye of faith and things unseen ; 
Causing that brighter world to disappear, 
Or seem less lovely, or its hopes less dear ; 
This is our world, our idol, though it bear 
Religion's impress, or devotion's air. 

An anecdote is recorded of a wealth v woman in a heathen 



82 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

country, who was induced by the example of a friend, to 
seek for consolation in the religion of Christ. Her friend 
had lost a sweet child, and been supported under the sore 
affliction by the hope of meeting her in the heavenly country. 
And she felt the want of love and comfort, which she had 
sought in vain by offerings in the temples and visiting the 
shrines of her ancestors. 

The assurances of the love of God, manifested in the 
sending of his beloved Son into the world, and the instructions 
she received in the doctrines of Christianity failed to bring 
peace to her soul ; for there was one evil habit which she 
was loth to resign — the excessive use of wine. She was 
asked if she was willing to give up everything for Christ. 
She hesitated a moment and replied, " Yes, everything but 
— but — ," " But your wine ?" " Yes, all but that," she cried 
with tears. " And I will drink at night and sleep off my 
disgrace, and never disgrace Him. Then He will not be 
ashamed of his new disciple." For some time she clung to 
the delusive hope that God would accept of such a partial 
offering, but she could not obtain his peace until she was 
made willing to bear his cross, and sacrifice everything that 
He required of her. 

How many nominal Christians are like this poor woman, 
— longing to have the assurance that they are the Lord's, 
and desiring to partake of the blessings which He bestows 
on his faithful ones, yet keeping back jjart of the price, 
unwilling to resign themselves unreservedly to his govern- 
ment, afraid to trust themselves in his hand lest He should 
require more than they are willing to part with or to do, 
having only a half-confidence in his goodness. Such double- 
minded persons are unstable in all their ways. They would 
fain be heirs of two kingdoms — which is an impossible 
thing. 

But the Lord often does give a blessing even in temporal 
things, to those who faithfully give up to his requirings, 
and makes a way for them where there seems to be no way. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 83 

The ( bngregationalist records the experience of a railroad 
conductor, who was a professing Christian, and who, in the 
summer of 1873, received an order to run an extra train 
on a First-day morning to accommodate a travelling circus. 
He felt that the act was one which he could not do with a 
clear conscience, yet to decline might cost him his position. 
He had worked hard nearly nine years as a brakeman, and 
had recently been promoted to conductor. Could he afford 
to lose all by refusal to do as ordered ? As he thought of the 
family dependent upon him, he said, I cannot throw away 
all these years of hard toil to satisfy conscience. Then he re- 
membered his religious associations, and felt that his influence 
for good would be destroyed by yielding. The notice had 
been received on a Third-day morning, and the remainder 
of the week was a time of much conflict between the oppos- 
ing feelings in his own mind. Sleepless nights and weary 
days were passed, and prayers for Divine help and wisdom 
were put up to Him who heareth the petitions of his child- 
ren. His mind became settled under a clear conviction 
that duty required him to decline obeying the order. 

His father was a deacon in a congregation, and he says, 
"I went to him and told him the story, reserving my decis- 
ion to myself, and asking his advice what to do. I knew 
well what he would say. What a look went over his face 
as he spoke ! ' But,' I said, ' Father will you help me to get 
something to do ? I shall lose my position, I have devoted 
nearly my whole life to this business, and now I must turn 
to something else.' 'Trust God, my boy,' he answered 
promptly, ' and I will help you too.' " He returned to the 
office, walked up to the manager, and respectfully told him, 
that he had been detailed to run the circus train, but that 
he could not do it. The manager looked him in the face, 
and, to his joyful astonishment, replied, " You been detailed 
to run Sunday trains ! I am surprised ! You go home, and 
don't worry about Sunday trains." He adds, that since that 
time he had never been, called on to perform such work. 

After Samuel Neale* of Ireland, had been awakened to a 
sense of his sinful condition, and had entered on a course of 

*See note, p. 44. 



84 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

life more in accordance with the will of his Heavenly Father, 
he accompanied an innocent, goodly Friend, named Garratt 
Van Hassen on a short religious visit. On their return, 
they staid a few nights at Christians-town, where the fol- 
lowing incident occurred ; " I had been used," he says, " in 
former times to walk out with my gun and dog; it was a 
retired way of amusing myself, in which I thought there 
was no harm ; and reasoning after this manner, though I 
was very thoughtful about leading a new life, yet now I 
went out as formerly. I remember I shot a brace of wood- 
cocks, and on my return home it rained, and I went to 
shelter myself by a stack of corn ; when it struck my mind 
as an impropriety thus to waste my time in this way of 
amusement, so I returned home rather heavy-hearted. Dear 
Garratt and I lodged together ; and next morning he asked 
me if I was awake^ I told him I was. ' I have something to 
say to thee,' said he. I bid him say on. ' It has been,' said 
he, ' as if an angel had spoken to me, to bid thee put away 
thy gun ; I believe it is proper thou should'st put away that 
amusement, To this purport he spoke, and that same night 
I dreamed that it was said to me, intelligibly in my sleep, 
that if I would be a son of righteousness, I must put away 
my gun, and such amusements. It made a deep impression 
on my mind, and I concluded to give up everything of the 
kind," and take up my daily cross, and follow the leadings 
of the Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world." 

The British Friend of Fifth Month, 1885, contains the 
experience of one of the members of a Women's Temperance 
Association at Dublin, Ireland, as related by herself, the 
truthfulness of which is vouched for, and which shows how 
a faithful surrender to the Divine leadings is often attended 
with both inward and outward blessings. It is in substance 
as follows : 

" We lived in a flourishing town in the South Riding of 
Tipperary, and carried on an extensive business as wholesale 
and retail grocers and wine and spirit merchants. Most of 
the gentry in the neighborhood were our customers; and 









1 N I ' i I) E N T S A XL) R EPL E C T I X S 85 

our business, which was the principal one in the place, was 
looked upon as a great public convenience. 

" For some years I had been anxious to serve the Lord. 
I had abundant means at my disposal, and, so far as earthly 
things are concei'ned, all that might be desired to make me 
happy; yet I was not satisfied. My life was on the whole 
miserable, an alternation of sinning and repenting. I longed 
to realize something better. By the help of the Holy Spirit, 
I was enabled, though not without a struggle, to make a 
full surrender of all that I had, and all that I was to (rod. 
Certain costly articles of dress had long proved a snare to 
me. I now saw the vanity of such profuse expense, and 
forthwith proceeded to abolish the idols. This self-denial 
brought gladness to my heart. 

" But another and more trying surrender was soon to be 
made. The most profitable branch of our business, and 
that which seemed essential to success in the grocery de- 
partment, was inseparably mixed up with much that was 
evil. ISTo drink was consumed on the premises, but the demon 
was there. I knew what a snare it was in the houses where 
it went. I knew the desolation it was working in certain 
families, and when I thought that I was, to some extent, 
abetting this work of ruin, my soul got clouded. Happily, 
my husband shared my scruples, and became equally anxious 
to .escape from Satan's toils. But what were we to do ? If 
we gave up the wine and spirit business, we saw clearly 
that most of our customers would leave us altogether ; our 
grocery business would be destroyed, and financial disaster 
would overtake us. Still, we heard God's voice calling and 
saying distinctly, ' Come out from among them, and be ye 
separate, and touch not the unclean thing ;' and at length we 
felt compelled to make our choice between disobedience to 
God and worldly ease, and obedience to Him and the 
probable forfeiture of earthly goods. Unhappily, in our 
extremity we thought of a compromise. We decided to 
give up the liquor business for a year or two, but with the 
mental reservation that if the experiment failed we should 
commence it again. 

" The experiment did fail, just as we expected ; and I am 



86 INCIDENTS A N D R E F L EC T 1 N S . 

sorry to confess, that we embarked again in a trade that we 
were feeling keenly was opposed to the law of Christ. Never- 
theless our Heavenly Father did not leave us to ourselves ; 
but from undreamed-of sources rained upon us trials thick 
and fast. Our hearts were overwhelmed with divers sorrows. 
We saw the loving hand of our God in it, and at last deter- 
mined to obey. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we 
decided to give up our business altogether, and separate 
ourselves forever from the accursed thing. We sold out our 
entire stock at a sacrifice of several thousand pounds. Then 
with aching hearts, and a sadly diminished exchequer, we 
went forth, literally not knowing whither we went. 

" By a wondrous chain of providence, God led us to a 
most suitable business house in a leading thoroughfare in 
the city, which for years had remained empty because the 
estate-agent refused to allow it to be used for the drink 
traffic. And now three years have gone by and God has 
never ceased to bless us. We can say from the depths of 
our hearts, we would not go back to the liquor traffic for 
the bestowal of a kingdom. Since we finally gave up our 
license my husband and children have been savingly brought 
to a knowledge of the truth. Rescued from Satan's snares, 
we rejoice together in the sunshine of our Father's love." 

In the dealings of our Heavenly Father with his children, 
it is instructive to notice how one step in the right direction 
seems to open the way for another, until, through obedience 
to the pointings of the Divine finger, he who had been walk- 
ing in the broad way that leads to destruction is found 
among those whose faces are turned Zionward. Such a 
case is mentioned by J. B. Gough* in his "Sunlight and 
Shadow," of an Englishman with whom he had met." 

He was a sporting man, and being very popular, he 
resolved to open a beer-house, which should serve as a 
place of resort for his associates. One day he noticed a 
poor woman, with two or three children, whose husband 
was drinking in his shop, looking anxiously in at the door. 
The thought of the meanness of selling beer and making 

* See note,' p. 35. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 87 

money out of the poverty of this family struck him quite 
forcibly ; and the impulse to get out of the miserable busi- 
ness came on him with such power that he said to his wife, 
"See here, lass, I'll work my ringers to the stumps before 
I'll keep a box like this ; and I'll get out of it." When it 
was known that he proposed giving up the business, he was 
advised to advertise and sell it. "No, no," was his reply, 
" I give it up because it's bad ; and I'll put no man in a bad 
business for money." To a brewer who offered to put him 
in a larger and more profitable house, he said, " No, I would 
not do it for all the world. I'd die first." 

At that time he saw no evil in the drink itself, only in its 
abuse. He therefore secured a house, and took to it several 
barrels of ale and porter for moderate use: but becoming 
further enlightened, he went to his cellar and turned the 
tap of every barrel, telling his wife, who asked how she was 
to care for the children without ale, that she must use por- 
ridge instead. 

His next good impulse was to go to a place of worship, 
having never been into one before. The only religious ex- 
ercise he remembered was part of a prayer by a street 
preacher. The first sermon he heard was from a passage in 
Timothy: "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having 
the promise of the life that now is, and that which is to 
come." The preacher was neither learned nor eloquent, but 
his homely phrases were understood, and the effect produced 
through the Divine blessing, was shown by the remark, 
after the discourse : " If it's true what that chap says, it will 
just suit me. Only think ! good for this life and good for 
t'other. All right now, and all right then. Safe here and 
safe there. That's just what I want, and I'll have it." 

This was the commencement of a consistent Christian life. 
His fifteen years recklessness had left him in debt ; so he 
did what every Christian should do, — began to pay his 
debts. He had seven little children, and was owing one 
hundred and fifty pounds, without a penny to meet his ob- 
ligations. He went to his principal creditor, to whom he 
was indebted seventy-five pounds, and engaged to pay five 
shillings per week, which he did, never missing a week for 



88 I N C I D E N T S A N 1 1 R B F L B C T I N S . 

more than five years. To another creditor, who had never 
even mentioned the debt to him, he went, three years after 
the change in his life, and said : 

" I believe I owe thee seven pounds. Now, I've a pig that 
I've fed instead of feeding the publican, and thou canst 
have the pig." 

" Well, lad," was the reply, " I'll take the pig ; and if 
there's aught over, I'll pay thee the balance." 

The pig was killed, weighed, and the balance of three 
pounds ten shillings was paid over. 

On one occasion, an old companion, who did not under- 
stand the great change wrought in him, called at his shop 
to obtain some sporting information, and wished to know 
who was likely to win in a certain race. He replied that 
he knew nothing about it, that he had but one more race 
to run. 

"Another race art thee going to run? Another race? 
Who is it with ? Hast thee made another match?" 

" Ay ; I have made a match with the Devil for eternal 
life and my own soul, and it will take me all the days of 
my life to beat him." 

When Gough parted with' him, he had been a consistent 
Christian for twenty-nine years, with a family of six sons 
and two daughters walking with him in the right road. He 
occupied a respectable position, had been blessed in basket 
and store, and had been a means of blessing to others. 

When any one has been brought to that condition of mind, 
that to love, honor and obey God is the ruling principle of 
his life, the fruits of this principle will soon become apparent 
in his conduct. 

One of the old numbers of the Moral Almanac contains 
the following interesting account of the experience of a 
man, who under great trials, was enabled to maintain his 
faithfulness to his convictions, and was finally brought out 
of all his distresses. The person who give? the relation 
says: — 

"About the year 1815 I became associated in the Com- 



I N C I D E N T S A N 1 1 R E F L E C T I 1 1 N S . 89 

mittee of the London Female Penitentiary with an excellent 
man, who very shortly afterwards became a visitor at my 
house, and who related to me his very interesting history, 
which was as follows : 

" He told me that in early life he had been placed in the 
general post-office, whence he had risen to the situation of 
first clerk in the receiver-general's or accountant-general's 
office — I think the first ; with a salary of £500 per annum ; 
that he was at that time very gay, frequenting with his 
wife, the theatre, and places of public amusement, and 
spending year by year, very nearly the income he received. 
But he was not happy, for he had an impression <>n his mind 
that things were not right between him and God. In the 
gayety of his heart he read novels, but he had never been 
in the habit of reading the Bible or attending the place of 
worship. In consequence of the discpiiet of his mind he 
began to read the Bible, but being unacquainted with its 
contents, he knew not where to look for those parts which 
might be most profitable to him. He went to a neighboring 
place of worship, and some of the prayers seemed interesting, 
but there was nothing in the sermon which came home to 
him. He went to other places, but with no better result. 
One morning, in passing through White Hart Court, Grace- 
church Street, he saw the Friends going into their meeting- 
house, and he determined to go in too. In the course of 
the service au aged Christian man spoke with much feeling 
of the difficulties which some men felt in coming to God, 
stating that it had been his own case. He then referred to 
those parts of Scripture which he had found to be of an 
encouraging nature. The gentleman told me he was quite 
thunderstruck at finding the good man expressing the very 
feelings and referring to the very difficulties of which he 
had been the subject for some months previous. The address 
of this aged Friend had excited an interest he had never 
felt before, and he went home and searched those parts of 
the Scriptures to which he had referred. 

" He then determined to tell his wife where he had been, 
not having done so on the previous occasion. He met, as 
he expected, with sneers and contempt, and, ' Oh,' said the 
8* 



90 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

good man, ' could I expect anything else ? If she had taken 
that course a few months previous, when my mind was given 
to vanity, I have no doubt I should have said pretty much 
what she did.' He persevered in attending, notwithstanding 
her remonstrances, and very soon afterwards purchased the 
works of the Quaker writers. He little thought at the 
time, as he said, to what this would expose him ; but in his 
reading he found what he considered very strong arguments 
against the taking of an oath, which he was required by the 
course of the office to take once a quarter to the accuracy 
of his accounts. After a very serious examination of the 
subject, he came to the decision that he ought not to take 
it ; and the clerk who stood next to him in the office, 
having no such scruple, he requested leave of his principal 
to change places with that clerk ; by doing this he would 
lose £100 a year ; but that he was willing to sacrifice for 
conscience sake. On mentioning this to his wife, he told 
me that he brought the most bitter reproaches upon himself 
for neglecting the interests of his family, in giving up that 
of which they ought to have the benefit ; and he was charged 
with cruelty towards her and his children. But this was 
not his greatest trial, for his principal positively refused to 
allow of the exchange, wishing, as it afterwards appeared, 
for an opportunity of placing another person in his office. 
The quarter-day approaching he again applied, stating that 
the second clerk had gone over the account with the 
vouchers, and was prepared to swear to its accuracy ; but 
this was again refused, and, on the day on which they were 
to be presented, he was called before the principal, asked 
whether he was prepared to swear to the accounts, and 
declining to do so, he was at once superseded, and another 
person put into his place ; who swore to them the same day, 
after an hour's examination. 

"The storm and the tempest which he had to encounter 
when he went home and told his wife that he was dismissed, 
was, as he said, tremendous. The children were presented 
to him, one by one, and he was told that he would be their 
murderer ; and each day only brought fresh reproaches. 
He immediately made inquiries for means of obtaining a 



I N C I D E N T S AND RE F J. E G T I N S . 91 

subsistence, but could hear of none. After a time, the little 
money he had saved was nearly expended, and poverty 
seemed to stare him in the face: still, as he told me, he was 
enabled to trust in God. 

" One day, as he came out of the Friends' meeting-house, 
two of the elder brethren took him aside, desiring to speak 
to him, and they asked him whether it was true that he had 
given up his office sooner than violate his conscience ? He 
told them it was. They desired him to meet them the next 
day, and then inquired particularly into his circumstances. 
He told them frankly everything, and they called at his 
house and satisfied themselves, by inquiring of the persons 
to whom he referred them, that his statement was correct; 
and having done so, they told him they were willing to give 
him a trial, but that it must be in a subordinate situation ; 
and learning that he had been intended for a chemist, and 
had begun to learn the business when his father had obtained 
for him the situation in the post-office, they made an arrange- 
ment for his serving in a chemist's shop, and afterwards 
assisting in the warehouse of a wholesale chemist, each for 
six or eight months, they allowing his family during the 
time two guineas-a-week, 'for which,' as he said, 'I was 
thankful.' At the end of that time, his employers certifying 
that he was qualified to go into business, they set him up in 
a shop, lending him £300 to begin with, and giving him a. 
running credit with a wholesale druggist for £300 more 
God prospered him in his business, and when I first made 
his acquaintance, he was a man of good property ; and his 
wife, who had long before become a Friend, was quite satis- 
fied with the course he had taken." 

The Earnest Christian of Sixth Month, 1886, gives some 
instructive reminiscences of James Kennedy, of San Jos6, 
California, with whom the editor of that paper had made 
his home some years before. He was a native of Scotland, 
who had removed to this country in early life. In 1852, in 
company with many others, he went with teams across the 
plains to California. He was chosen leader of the caravan, 
and every Seventh-day went into camp, and did not allow 
a wagon to be moved till Second-day morning. After a 



92 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS 



few weeks some of the company became impatient, and 
drove ahead on the First-day, without waiting for the rest. 
Others followed their example, so that he Avas left alone 
with his own family and teams. But he persevered in his 
course, and got through in safety, with his cattle in good 
order, having lost none, and without being once molested 
by the Indians. After about ten days, the first of those 
who had left him arrived, and others came straggling in for 
two weeks more. They had lost a number of cattle and 
those that lived were poor. 

After he reached California, J. Kennedy engaged in the 
" packing business." In those days there were no railroads 
and no wagon roads to the mining camps in the mountains. 
Their roads were narrow trails, often up the steep sides of 
mountains, and through and across deep ravines; and only 
men, or small, sure-footed mules could pass over these 
mountain trails in safety. Supplies were carried to the 
miners by trains of mules having on them pack-saddles, on 
which were loaded, meat, Hour, vegetables, canned goods, 
clothes, and everything wanted in a mining camp. From 
a dozen to twenty mules constituted a train. When J. 
Kennedy loaded up his first train at Sacramento, the mer- 
chant of whom he bought, a brother Scotchman, said, " You 
must load one mule with whiskey." 

" Xot a mule of mine will ever pack any whiskey," was 
the prompt and decided answer. 

"You will fail then in business; for it is of no use for 
you to attempt to trade with miners unless you keep whiskey." 

"Then fail it is; for they will never get any whiskey by 
means of me." 

The mule that the merchant intended should carry whiskey 
was loaded with onions. This proved a most profitable ven- 
ture, for the scurvy had broken out in camp, and onions 
were in great demand. At the close of the season it was 
found that he had done better than any of the traders who 
carried whiskey. 

The feeling on the subject of slavery ran high in those 
days. Everywhere men met on the American continent 
the subject was agitated. Kennedy often had to defend in 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 93 

the mining camps the cause of human freedom. On one 
occasion, the landlord, though he had formerly been a col- 
lege professor at the north, defended slavery with marked 
ability. Kennedy answered his arguments so well that the 
listeners insisted upon a public discussion. Arrangements 
were speedily made, and the question of slavery was debated 
with warmth and skill until two o'clock in the morning. The 
vote of the audience was very largely in favor of freedom ; 
and they were all unconsciously being prepared to take the 
right side in the great struggle which was to determine the 
fate of slavery in this republic. 

When the war broke out, J. Kennedy was toll-keeper on 
a turnpike owned mostly by Southerners. He sometimes 
had in his hands from two to three thousand dollars. Yet 
during all this time he never kept a revolver, or arms of 
any kind ; and no attempt was ever made to rob him though 
the mill and the store near by were robbed. 

News that the conflict had actually begun reached them 
when one of the directors, a hot-headed Southerner, was 
with him. 

" I would like," said this director, " to cut the heart out 
of the first black republican I meet." 

" You had better," said Kennedy, " begin on me. You 
will not find a better one." 

The Southerner, ashamed of himself, changed the subject 
at once. 

Some of his friends urged Kennedy to be more careful 
of what he said, as he might lose his position, the directors 
being generally Southerners. He replied that if he did, it 
would make no difference ; he should stand by the right, 
come what would. 

But he was confident they would not discharge him, for 
they wanted an honest man in his position and they knew 
it was difficult to get one. He kept his place till the war 
closed, and he voluntarily resigned. 

He died in the eighty-second year of his age, in the hope 
of a blessed immortality. 

Although a faithful attention to the directions of con- 
science, and to the monitions of the Spirit of Christ, may 



94 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

sometimes be attended with pecuniary loss or outward suf- 
fering, yet there are many instances where a blessing has 
evidently attended such faithfulness. One such was related 
by Neal Dow in the New York Observer : 

A friend of his, yet young, who had been in business in 
a small way, thought he would go to New Orleans, live 
there, and try his fortune. He put all his property into a 
certain kind of merchandise which he knew the market in 
New Orleans would readily take, embarked on board a brig 
and sent her off, while he resolved to go by land. 

In those days there were no railways. From Philadel- 
phia he took stage over the mountains to Pittsburg. On 
Seventh-day night there was talk among some of the passen- 
gers on the question of travelling on First-day ; N. Dow's 
friend said he would not travel on that day — he would stop 
over at the hotel where the passengers had supper. He had 
never travelled before, and some old stagers represented to 
him the possible, if not probable consequences of his resolu- 
tion. 

On Second-day the stage might have no place vacant 
and he must necessarily wait another day, and perhaps 
another and another, before he could continue his journey. 
In that case, on arrival at Pittsburg, lie might find the 
steamer gone, and another delay would result from it. He 
considered the matter carefully. His orders to the ship- 
master were to await him at New Orleans so many days, if 
he should fail to arrive he was to warehouse the cargo, a 
costly affair in New Orleans. He had hoped to sell it from 
the vessel. 

He said : " I will stop over." The stage with his pleasant 
companions went on without him. He remained in the poor 
country inn, with no books, no company, no church. On 
Second-day the stage was full and he could not proceed, on 
Third-day the same, on Fourth-day he found a seat, and on 
his arrival at Pittsburg there was no steamer and would be 
none for two weeks. He took passage on a flat-boat for 
Cincinnati, where he arrived after a tedious passage, and 
was obliged to wait there three days for a steamer for 
New Orleans. All looked very dark to him. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 05 

If he had kept on without stopping over he would have 
found a steamer at Pittsburg all ready to start, by which 
he could go without change to New Orleans. On arriving 
at his destination he found his cargo in a warehouse as he 
had feared, and besides, he missed an admirable opportunity 
to sell the whole of it from the vessel, to a merchant in 
undoubted credit, who importuned the captain to sell and 
thus save storage. All looked very dark, but in two days 
after his arrival, the merchant failed who had endeavored to 
buy his cargo. The sale would have been " on time," and 
the entire cargo would have been lost. In the meantime his 
merchandise greatly advanced in the market, was very 
quickly sold at a large profit and for cash, the transaction 
being the foundation of a handsome fortune, which he 
employed always wisely and well, not for himself and family 
only, but most liberally in every good work. 

Our Saviour has declared, " Him that Cometh unto me, I 
will in no wise cast out;" and so it will be with all those 
who listen to his voice, and through the assisting power of 
his Spirit, take up their cross and follow Him in the way of 
self-denial. But there is such a thing as resisting his call 
and the pleadings of his Spirit, till its visitations are with- 
drawn, and it no longer strives with us. In that awful 
situation, there is neither power nor will to change. In 
illustration of this condition, the following incident is in- 
troduced : 

A minister at Plymouth, Massachusetts, was requested by 
a woman to visit her daughter, who was at the point of 
death. On entering the room, and inquiring of the sick 
woman why she wished to see him, she replied, that she had 
only consented for the sake of gratifying her friends ; that 
it would do her no good to be visited by him or any other 
minister. On further conference, she told him that there 
had been a time when her mind was powerfully wrought 
upon by God's Spirit, and was occupied with serious thoughts 



96 I X C I D E X T S A X D REFLECTIONS. 

that she needed pardoning mercy. Under these convictions 
she struggled for months. 

At length, she was invited to he present at a hall or party 
of pleasure, and urgently solicited by some of her young 
and thoughtless acquaintance to attend. But conscience 
strongly remonstrated. She felt convinced that if she went 
to that scene of vain amusement, it would jeopardize the 
interests of her soul. While she was preparing to go, and 
while on her way to the place where the gay circle were to 
meet, she felt that she was doing wickedly, and that if she 
joined them, perhaps God would leave her to herself, and 
her soul be lost forever. 

As she came near the house she hesitated, doubting 
whether to go in or not ; but at last she yielded to the 
temptation, and tremblingly crossed the threshold. But no 
sooner had she entered and begun to participate in the 
evening's amusements, than her convictions all left her. 
Since that time, she said she had no compunctions of con- 
science whatever; preaching, personal appeals, judgment and 
mercies, and even the firm belief that she must soon die, had 
not affected her hard heart, or awakened the least anxiety 
of mind. Her case she said was hopeless. She knew that 
Christ had saved the thief on the cross, and was able to save 
all that came unto Him for mercy, but she had no desire to 
come — the Spirit had taken its flight and left her to hard- 
ness of heart. 

This poor girl died without giving any outward sign of re- 
pentance — anything on which her friends could find ground 
for consolation and hope — yet there may have been a secret 
work of grace, which no mortal eye saw, and mercy may 
have been extended as at the eleventh hour. However this 
may be, what a striking commentary does this incident fur- 
nish to the prayer of David — a prayer which has thousands 
of times since been offered by contrite hearts — " Take not 
thy Holy Spirit from me ? " 

Sad indeed are the results of an obstinate refusal to bow 
in submission to the Great Ruler of all things ; and of re- 
jecting his government, Which is designed to promote our 
own happiness. A striking example of this is furnished by 



INCIDENTS A X I) R E F NEC T I X S . 07 

the case of a young woman in Philadelphia, many years 
ago, a member of a wealthy family there. She believed it 
required of her to appear as a minister, but was unwilling 
to yield to the requisition ; and having long resisted it, was 
brought into great distress of mind, because of her disobedi- 
ence. After a time, the call to this service was withdrawn ; 
and then, hoping to obtain relief from her mental anguish, 
she presumed to offer unbidden sacrifices. But these ap- 
pearances in the line of the ministry brought no comfort to 
herself or to her friends. 

Her mind probably became unsettled by her anxiety and 
distress ; and her temper being unrestrained, grew to be so 
unreasonable and violent, and her demeanor so disagreeable, 
as to unfit her for much social intercourse with others. For 
a long period, she remained most of the time in her own 
room, waited upon by an Irish nurse, who felt such a con- 
tempt for her patient, that she usually spoke of her by some 
disparaging apellation. 

The late Jane Pierce, out of her feelings of compassion 
and Christian interest, was accustomed to visit her fre- 
quently. On one occasion a female Friend, a minister of 
the Gospel, being at her house, Jane took her to visit the 
poor creature. After a time of silence, the Friend addressed 
the invalid with a Gospel message, in which she expressed 
her belief that a renewed visitation of the love of God would 
be extended to her soul, and that a door of mercy would be 
opened before her. Jane Pierce could scarcely believe that 
this would be the case, so great had been the fall of her 
neighbor. But the event proved that the prophecy was a 
true one. One morning the nurse came for Jane, desiring 
her to come and see the sick woman, of whom she then 
spoke in terms of respect, no longer calling her by any op- 
probious term. She said she thought she was going to die, 
for she had been praying all night ! Jane went and found 
her greatly changed ; she had become gentle as a lamb, and 
so continued till her close came. 

This is a striking instance of the long forbearance and 
abundant mercy of our Father in Heaven, who willeth not 
that any should perish, but that all should return, repent 



98 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

and live. But how sad it is to think of the years of misery, 
and of the loss of happiness and of usefulness, which her 
disobedience caused this poor woman ! 

The experience of John Churchman* illustrates the 
manner in which some through disobedience or unfaithful- 
ness, have been led to imitate the foolish man who said in 
his heart, " There is no God." 

John Churchman had been tenderly visited by the Spirit 
of the Lord when a young child, and had been brought 
into a state of filial obedience to his Heavenly Father. But 
through un watchfulness, he lost his good condition, and for 
some years endured much conflict and distress. He says: 
" During this time I was diligent in attending meetings, 
hoping at seasons that the Lord would condescend once 
rqore to visit me ; for a saying of an eminently pious man 
was revived in my remembrance, 'That if there remained a 
desire in the heart after redemption, as it was kept to, the 
Lord would again assuredly visit such in his own time.' I 
was therefore fearful of neglecting meetings, lest I might 
miss of the good intended for me; yet the subtle working 
of the power of darkness was very great, suggesting to me 
that all things came by nature, and that there was no God, 
no heaven, no devil, no punishment tor evil, religion a jest, 
and painful care about futurity a silly whim, propagated to 
deprive people of pleasure. But, blessed be the Lord ! He 
preserved me from this snare ; for while I felt his judgments 
for sin, I believed in his being and holiness ; and I am in- 
deed fully of the mind, that no man can be an atheist before 
he acts contrary to knowledge, when, to allay the horror 
and anguish of mind he feels for the commission of sin, he 
closes in with this temptation." 

When Job Scott* was growing toward manhood, he 
passed through much conflict of mind, through unwilling- 
ness fully to yield up his own will to that of the Lord, and 
to refrain from those gratifications which the Holy Spirit 

*See note, p. 14. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 1)9 

clearly showed him were wrong, and condemned him for. 
Of this period of his life, he says : 

" One time under deep exercise, after reasoning and hesi- 
tating great part of a day, whether I had best give up with 
fall purpose of heart, to lead a religious life or not ; at 
length I gave up, and entered once more into solemn cove- 
nant to serve God, and deny myself, according to the best 
of my understanding. Almost as soon as I had thus given 
up and come to this good conclusion, in stepped the grand 
adversary and blundered and distressed my mind ; power- 
fully insinuating that a certain number were infallibly 
ordained to eternal salvation, the rest to inevitable destruc- 
tion ; and that not all the religious exercises of my mind 
could possibly make any alteration in my final destination 
and allotment. I might set my heart at rest, and live just 
such a life as would most gratify my natural inclination. 

" I did not, indeed, so drink down this stupefying potion 
of false doctrine, as to relinquish my purpose of amendment 
all at once; I held out a few weeks, when, mournful to 
relate, the influence of young company, and my vehement 
desires for creaturely indulgence, through the tolerating 
influence of the aforesaid insinuations, broke through all 
my most solemn engagements, threw down the walls and 
fortifications, and exposed me an easy prey to the grand 
enemy of my soul's salvation. Again I took my swing in 
vanity, amusements and dissipation. The prince of dark- 
ness followed me with temptation upon temptation to evil, 
and with various subtle insinuations and dark notions, to 
rid me of all fear, restraint or tenderness of conscience. 
At length, notwithstanding all I had felt of the power of 
God upon me, in reproof for sin, and invitation to holiness, 
yea, though I had had some true relish of Divine good, the 
holy witness became so stifled, that I began to conclude 
there was no God; that all things came by chance, by 
nature, by the fortuitous jumble and concourse of atoms, 
without any designing cause or intelligent arrangement; 
that it was idle, chimerical, and delusive to think of serving, 
or fearing a being who had no existence but in imagination." 



100 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

It has been the experience of many, that as they have 
yielded to temptation, and departed from the law of God 
written in their hearts, the light that is in them has become 
darkened, and those spiritual truths which they once knew 
have been hidden from their sight, until they have become 
sadly blinded and bewildered. In this deplorable state, 
nothing but a fresh visitation of love from the Saviour of 
men, — even from Him who is the Light of the world, and 
who alone can open the eyes of the spiritually blind, — can 
restore the lost faith, and enable the poor wanderer to 
return to the fold of peace and safety. 

This is instructively shown in the account which Joseph 
Hoag* gives of what he passed through in his young years. 
He says: 

"Soon after arriving at the age of fifteen, I thought it my 
duty to speak to a difficult subject, then before the Monthly 
Meeting, but I forbore from a fear of opposition. This 
want of faithfulness brought great distress upon me for a 
while. In about three months after, it was laid upon me to 
bear public testimony in our meetings of worship, which 
requisition I suppressed and reasoned away from time to 
time for about six months. At the expiration of this time, 
those manifestations of duty left, me, and with them all 
comfort and peace. My light became darkness, and truly 
great was that darkness. In this I groped about seeking 
rest, but finding none; some times reclining under the 
fences, and at other times seeking solitary places, and 
bitterly bemoaning my situation. At length I concluded 
that all hope was lost ; 'that there was no place of repentance 
left for me, and that I might as well be merry and take all 
the comfort I could. In this state of mind I rejoined my 
young companions, and ran into mirth at a rapid rate, 

*Born in Dutchess County, New York, in 1762. Removed to Ver- 
.mont, where he died, in lS4fi. He travelled extensively as a minister 
in various parts of the United States and Canada. See Journal pub- 
lished in I860. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 101 

carrying the anguish of my soul with me wherever I went, 
and was often met with renewed conviction, which caused 
me to tremble, yet I concluded there was no return for me, 
and that I might as well go on ; and in this situation I 
dragged along for several months, sometimes down in the 
extreme, at other times as much in the air. 

" About this time hearing a discourse on the principles of 
infidelity, where it was held up that the Scriptures were 
uncertain records, and that the idea of the divinity of 
Christ was a foolish one, that God had no need of a Son, 
and that there was no future punishment; this pleased me, 
and I wished to have it so. I laid hold of this sentiment 
willingly, and endeavored to soothe all my feelings, in the 
hope that this doctrine was correct ; yet it was a long time 
before I could bring my mind to believe these statements, 
neither could I accept them, before I concluded that all the 
openings of truth which I had witnessed were the effects of 
dubious stories which had been told me. When fixed in 
this idea, the anguish of my soul was inexpressible — it 
seemed as though all light had left me, and I had little or 
no power to govern my temper or tongue ; of all states that 
I ever witnessed for hardness of heart, this seemed the most 
remarkable. Although for a while my distress was indes- 
cribable, I persisted in vindicating these principles till I 
became a believer in them. In this state, gross darkness 
was my portion, where neither sun, moon, nor stars were 
seen — oftentimes my days were wearisome and my nights 
tedious, yet through all this bewildered state I was preserved 
from gross evils. 

" In this way I struggled along till I was nearly eighteen 
years of age, when it pleased the Lord to send his faithful 
servant, Abel Thomas,* into our part of the country ; who, 
in a large meeting, addressed a certain state, and was 
enabled to speak to my condition so clearly that I could 
not deny a single word. He described my progress from 

*An industrious laborer in the ministry of the Gospel. Born at 
Merion, near Philadelphia, and finally settled at Monallen, in Adams' 
County, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1816, in the seventy-ninth 
year of his age. He met with severe trials in his journeys during the 
war of the Revolution. See Memoir in Friends' Library, vol. 13, p. 470. 
9* 



102 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS 

the first religious impressions which I was favored to expe- 
rience, to my then condition, more correctly than I could 
have done it myself; clearly showing me from what I had 
departed, and that this departure was the occasion ol the 
distress which I had undergone. "When he took up my 
principles of infidelity, he placed his eye upon me, and in a 
wonderful maimer unfolded my reasoning, laying waste all 
my arguments, and then warned me, in a solemn manner, 
to return to the Truth from which I had departed, closing 
in these words: 'That Jesus, whom thou hast denied, has 
revealed to me thy state and condition.' Learning after 
meeting that he had travelled a number of miles to reach 
it, and that he had lodged far from the meeting place— no 
Friend knowing that he was in that part of the country, I 
was persuaded he had no opportunity of obtaining informa- 
tion of any particular state among us. This circumstance 
served to enforce the weight of the testimony on my mind, 
and so fully convinced me, that it overthrew my castle: I 
durst trust it no longer, and I went into the wood and wept 
till I could weep no more. 

"Now the potent enemy of all happiness poured in upon 
my mind a mighty flood of reasoning, after this manner :— 
That the Friend was not sent for my salvation, but only to 
stop my mouth from speaking blaspheming principles, so 
that I might not deceive others. That I had blasphemed 
the Father, Son and Holy Ghost ; that I had sinned against 
it and therefore no mercy was extended towards me, for 
the justice and holiness of God would never be reconciled 
to such a monster as I was : 

" These reflections sunk me below all hope. I became so 
disordered that I was watched day and night: my sleep 
went from me, and my stomach refused food. I pined away 
like one in a decline, for my distress and horror were beyond 
the scope of language to describe. I fancied I saw the re- 
gions of endless U irment ready to receive me. In this situa- 
tion I remained for a number of weeks. 

" Here I would exhort the reader to stop, and reflect for 
a few moments. Behold what I passed through for depart- 
ing from the Truth, and letting in unbelief! Let it be a 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 103 

warning to all, for my cravings are that another may never 
have the distress to go through from disobedience which I 
had ; so narrowly escaped the jaws of eternal destruction. 

"The above-mentioned Friend, Abel Thomas, with his 
companion James Thomas, passing on to the southward, 
went through our Yearly Meeting, expecting to go home 
from Long Island. I then lived at Nine Partners. Our 
Quarterly Meeting, then held at Oblong, came on about 
the time that these Friends had finished their visit; but 
instead of finding liberty to return home, they felt their 
minds forcibly arrested to return back more than a hundred 
miles to attend our Quarterly Meeting, to which my father 
had taken me, fearing to leave me at home. On seeing 
them come in, I was exceedingly shocked, and concluded 
they had now come to denounce my final doom. 

"After sitting awhile, Abel Thomas arose and brought 
into view the state for which he had been led to feel, when 
in our land before; and in a tender manner declared 'that 
he perceived the enemy had taken advantage of the poor 
penitent, and had made him believe that his damnation was 
sealed, and the Lord had no mercy for him ! He then feel- 
ingly testified that the enemy was a liar, and was so from 
the beginning; and that whom God cast off* he no longer 
strove with, neither did he strive with the damned ; there- 
fore, while the striving of his spirit was felt to caution 
against evil, it was an evidence that the day of mercy was 
yet continued; and if there was faithful obedience to the 
manifestations of the Spirit of Christ within, and an entire 
giving up to the Lord for his disposal, even unto life or 
death — a patient endurance of the needful baptism, and a 
submission to the chastening of the rod that was lifted up, 
thus reconciling the hand that shook it ; the days would 
come when the individual would have to go forth to tell 
others what great things the Lord had done for his soul.' 

" When these words dropped, I said to myself, ' It is 
enough, I now believe.' He stopped, as though he heard 
me speak, and turned to another subject." 

When passing through trials and afflictions of various 
kinds, it is a source of comfort to the Christian to remember, 



104 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

that " whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth ; and scourgeth 
every son whom He receiveth." Exposed as we are in this 
state of existence, to many sources of suffering ; we may yet 
experience even these bitter portions of our cup to promote 
our ultimate good, if we truly love and fear God. Indeed 
it is nearly always through the dispensation of suffering, 
that we are made willing to submit to the government of 
Christ. John Richardson* thus describes his own experi- 
ence in the work of regeneration : 

"I now came to witness that scripture to be fulfilled, 
which saith, that when the Lord's judgments are in the 
earth, or earthly hearts of men, the inhabitants learn right- 
eousness. And notwithstanding there was an aversion in 
my wild nature to the people in scorn called Quakers, as 
also to the name itself, yet when the afflicting hand of the 
Lord was upon me for my disobedience, and when, like 
Ephraim and Judah, I saw in the Light my hurt and my 
wound, I bemoaned myself and mourned over that just 
principle of light and grace in me, which I had pierced 
with my sins and disobedience ; and although that ministra- 
tion of condemnation was glorious in its time, yet great 
were my troubles, which humbled my mind, and made me 
willing to deny myself of everything which the Light made 
known in me to be evil ; I being in great distress, and want- 
ing peace and assurance of the love of God to my soul ; the 
weight of which so humbled my mind, that I knew not of 
any calling, people, practice or principle, that was lawful 
and right, which I could not embrace or fall in with. This 
was surely like the day of Jacob's troubles, and David's 
fears ; I saw that the filth of Zion was to be purged away 
by the spirit of judgment and of burning ; this is the way of 
deliverance and recovery of poor men out of the fall, and 
the time of the restoration of the kingdom to God's true 
Israel." 

The testimony of Job Scott* is very similar. He had 

* See note, p. 77. t See note, p. 14. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTION'S. 105 

wandered far from the fold of Christ, and long done despite 
to the Spirit of Grace, but when he yielded up his heart to 
its government, and gave up in faithfulness to some requisi- 
tions which were hard to obey, he was rewarded with a sense 
of heavenly joy, " which," he says, "sprang in my bosom 
as a well-spring of living waters. And yet this flow of 
divine consolation lasted not long at this time ; for though 1 
gave up to whatever the Lord required of me, yet as I had 
so long and so stubbornly rebelled against Him, He saw 
meet in his infinite wisdom, soon to hide his face from me 
again, and close me up in almost utter darkness, which 
rendered ray days truly tedious, and my nights wearisome 
to my soul. I was fully convinced that God was to be 
known inwardly, in power and great glory, by those who 
obey Him and wait upon Him. My heart was inflamed 
with love towards Him. I had seen a little of his comeli- 
ness ; He had become the beloved of my soul, the chiefest 
among ten thousands ; therefore I often retired alone, and 
in profound reverential silence, sought after Him, and press- 
ingly solicited a nearer acquaintance with Him. But He, 
knowing what was best for me, graciously hid his presence 
from me. And though this was a painful suspension, yet I 
could not be easy to give over seeking Him ; I still contin- 
ued my ardent silent approaches or waiting. * * Oh the 
mourning and lamentation, the distress and bitter weeping, 
that almost continually overwhelmed me for several months 
together, for the want of the soul-enlivening presence of my 
God! * * 

O my God; thou leddest me through the desert, thou 
weanedst me from the world, and alluredst me into the 
wilderness ; there thou did'st hide thy face from me for a 
season ; until the longings of my soul after thee were in- 
tensely kindled : then liftedst thou up my head and spake 
comfortably to me ; blessed be thy holy name forever!" 

Samuel Neale* in speaking of his own case, says : " The 
Lord was pleased to be with me, contriting my spirit, and 
humbling me under his mighty hand. The mount of Esau 
was still on fire, which at times was very affecting and hard 

* See note, p. 83. 



106 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

to be borne ; and were it not for the Divine hand that sus- 
tained, I could not have abode the fierceness of the furnace ; 
but it is a gradual work and must be accomplished ; the 
kingdom of sin and Satan must be destroyed, before the 
kingdom of the holy Jesus becomes established in the hearts 
of men. The house of Saul grew weaker and weaker, and 
the house of David stronger and stronger, until it became 
established : so, in a religious sense, conversion is a gradual 
work ; the sinful nature declines through the efficacy of the 
Holy Ghost and fire, which purges the floor of the heart, 
and makes it a fit temple for the Spirit of the Son of God 
to dwell in." 

The essence of religion consists in being brought under 
the dominion of the Divine Life and Power of Christ ; and 
knowing it to regulate our whole course of life. Where 
the enemy of all good sees that any are thoroughly awak- 
ened to the necessity of this, so that they are no longer his 
willing servants, one of his stratagems is to clothe himself 
so as to appear as an angel of light, and to suggest various 
duties and even acts of self-denial. However helpful these 
might prove, if Divinely required, yet if they are performed 
at the suggestion of the Evil one, they tend to bewilder the 
mind, and to keep it in bondage to him. This is a more com- 
mon temptation than some may suppose. Many of those 
who have attained a good degree of religious experience, in 
looking back over their lives can remember travelling over 
this rough and rocky ground. 

Thomas Ellwood,* in his interesting and instructive auto- 
biography, relates how he was for a time entangled in this 
snare, " I, not then knowing the wiles of Satan, and being 
eager to be doing some acceptable service to God, too readily 

* A native of Oxfordshire, England. A friend of John Milton, to 
whom he suggested writing Paradise Regained. Born 1639, died in 1713. 
Author of Sacred History, and other works. See Life in Friends' Library 
vol. 7, p. 342, etc. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 107 

yielded myself to the conduct of my enemy instead of my 
friend." 

"He thereupon, humoring the warmth and zeal of my 
spirit, put me upon religious performances in my own will, 
in my own time, and in my own strength ; which in them- 
selves were good, and would have heen profitable to me and 
acceptable to the Lord, if they had been performed in his 
will, his time, and the ability which He gives. But being 
wrought in the will of man, and at the prompting of the 
Evil one, no wonder that it did me hurt instead of good. 

"I read abundantly in the Bible, and would set myself 
tasks in reading ; enjoining myself to read so many chapters, 
sometimes a whole book or a long epistle at a time. And 
I thought that time well spent, though I was not much the 
wiser for what I had read, reading it too cursorily and with- 
out the true guide, the Holy Spirit, which alone could open 
the understanding, and give the true sense of what was 
read. 

. " I prayed often and drew out my prayers to a great 
length; and appointed certain set times to pray at, ami a 
certain number of prayers to say in a day ; yet knew not, 
meanwhile, what true prayer was. This stands not in words, 
though the words that are uttered in the movings of the 
Holy Spirit, are very available : but in the breathing of 
the soul to the Heavenly Father, through the operation of 
the Holy Spirit, who maketh intercession sometimes in words 
and sometimes with sighs and groans only, which the Lord 
vouchsafes to hear and answer. 

"This will- worship, which all is that is performed in the 
will of man, and not in the movings of the Holy Spirit, 
was a great hurt to me, and hindrance of my spiritual growth 
in the way of Truth." 

John Griffith* records that after he had been divinely 
visited, and been made willing to deny himself in all things 
which appeared inconsistent with the Divine will, Satan, 
" taking advantage of the ardency of my mind, suggested 

*Born in Wales in 1713. Removed to Pennsylvania in 1726. Re- 
turned to England in 17.50. Died there in 1776. He four times crossed 
the ocean on religious visits. See Life in Friends' Library, vol. 5, p. 329. 



108 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

that my work would be much easier in obtaining a com- 
plete victory over evil, were I to refrain for awhile from 
some of the necessaries of life, particularly from eating and 
taking my natural rest in sleep, except just as much as 
would preserve my life ; and that I must constantly keep 
my hands employed in business, as idleness is the nursery 
of vice ; neither was he wanting to bring Scripture, and 
passages out of other religious books, to confirm these re- 
quirings." 

In his effort to conform to these requirings of a hard task- 
master, his strength failed, and he almost sunk into despair. 
But the Lord, whom he still loved, awakened a concern in 
the mind of one of the members of his meeting, who visited 
him, closely inquired into his condition, and showed him 
that he was under a delusion of Satan. John Griffith says: 
" Being thus, through the Lord's mercy, delivered from the 
wicked designs of my enemy, which undoubtedly was to 
destroy both soul and body, I had in reverent thankful- 
ness to rejoice in his salvation. I then clearly saw that 
Satan, in his religious appearances, is also carefully to be 
guarded against ; as nothing in religion can be acceptable 
to God, but the genuine product of his unerring spirit." 

It was probably a similar concern to that which John 
Griffith's friend felt for him, that led John Thorp,* in one 
of his excellent letters, to extend the following caution to 
his friend Francis Dodshon, whose spirits were long in a 
depressed condition : — " I would have thee in anywise comply 
with whatever thou thinkest may conduce to thy bodily 
health in meat, drink, sleep and exercise ; to do anything 
to injure our health, or shorten our lives is certainly a fault. 
The blessing of natural life and health, deserves our grati- 
tude and attention ; and I believe it equally offensive to 
defile or to destroy." 

* A minister among Friends, who resided at Manchester, England. 
Died in 1817; His collected letters have been several times published. 
The last edition, by Friends' Book Store, Philadelphia. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 109 

The testimony born by James Naylor* in his treatise, 
" Love to the Lost," as to the danger of being deceived by 
the Enemy of all good, is substantially the same as those of 
Thomas Ellwood and John Griffith. He says : 

"When the creature hath been out in the world and un- 
righteous ways thereof, doing that which is evil, then the 
Spirit of Christ in the heart condemns for the evil and 
neglect of good ; then the same mind runs to act a worship 
to get peace, when both the evil and the worship is in one 
nature, and so the prayer becomes abomination. For the 
Evil-worker hath not only his hand in the deceitful works 
of the unrighteous mammon but in the deceitful works of 
worship too. For, did he not deceive in worship to hide 
his wickedness with pretence of godliness and long prayers, 
he could not keep his people in any peace in his wicked 
ways." 

From these remarks it appears, that those who are en- 
deavoring to do their Heavenly Father's will are often 
brought into some conflict in deciding whether certain 
things which are presented to them to be done, are of his 
requiring or not. These seasons of doubt and perplexity 
are humbling to those who are exercised thereby, and are, 
Ave believe, designed to preserve them in a dependence on 
the Lord, and to promote their spiritual advancement. 

A somewhat similar exercise of spirit has been felt by 
many in their attempts to learn what are the true principles 
of the Gospel of Christ. They have found by experience 
that it is the " Lion of the tribe of Judah," — the Spirit of 
the Lord Jesus — which alone is able to open the book and 
make known to them the mysteries of the kingdom of God. 
Near the end of his life, John Cowper, a brother of the 

* A noted minister among the early Friends. He fell away, but was 
afterwards restored. He died in 1660, in the forty-fourth year of his 
age. See SeweUs History of the Quakers and Evans' Friends in the Seven- 
teenth Century. 
10 



110 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

poet, who had long been a respectable and studious clergy- 
man, came to see his dependence on God for light and 
salvation as he had never seen it before, and bore this 

testimony : 

" I see the rock upon which I once split, and see the rock 
of my salvation. I have learned that in a moment, which 
I could not have learned by reading many books for many 
years. I have often studied these points, and studied them 
with great attention, but was blinded by prejudice; and 
unless He who alone is worthy to unloose the seals, had 
opened the book, I had been blinded still. Now they ap- 
pear so plain, that though I am convinced no comment 
could ever have made me understand them, I wonder I did 
not see them before. Yet, great as my doubts and diffi- 
culties were, they -have only served to pave the way ; and 
being solved, they make it plainer. The subjects crowd 
upon me faster than I can give them utterance. How plain 
do many texts appear, to which, after consulting all the 
commentaries, I could hardly affix a meaning; and now I 
have their true meaning without any comment at all." 

In the lively narrative which he has left of his religions 
experience, David Ferris* describes the manner in which 
he became convinced of the truth of the doctrines of which 
he afterwards became a consistent professor and a faithful 
supporter. He says : 

" I clearly perceived that all right understanding in 
spiritual concerns must proceed from the immediate revela- 
tion of the Holy Spirit ; and that we could not come to the 
knowledge of God, nor of anything relating to his kingdom 
without it." 

" Being very desirous to know the truth in all things, I 
made application to Him who I believe to be the only 
teacher of his people ; and as I waited upon Him for in- 
struction, my understanding was gradually enlightened, so 
as to perceive many errors in my former creed." The doc- 

*See note, p. 49 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. "Ml 

trine which stood most in his way was that of unconditional 
election and reprobation, in regard to which he says : 

" It pleaded the Lord to open my understanding dearly 
to perceive the error of this doctrine ; and I was enabled 
to believe that Christ, who ' gave Himself a ranson for all,' 
would ' have all men to be saved, and come to the know- 
ledge of the truth." After some further remarks, he adds: 

" I ascribe all my knowledge in divine things to the in- 
ward manifestations of grace and truth, the teaching of the 
Holy Spirit. It was Christ, the light of the world, the life 
of men, who opened to me the Scriptures, and gave me a 
discerning of their meaning; and as I was faithful and obe- 
dient to the pointings of truth, I was favored with further 
and clearer discoveries thereof." 

Thomas Story,* in writing to a correspondent in the year 
1676, expresses his belief that the things of God, spoken of 
in the Holy Scriptures, " are rightly to be understood and 
truly known only by the openings and inshinings of the 
light of the same Divine Word, by which at first they were 
dictated. After saying that he had ever depended on this 
Word, since he was favored with the knowledge of God, 
and not upon his own reason as a man only. He adds : — 

" And now, dear friend, know that I am not a contemner 
of the Holy Sci'iptures, but do love them, and have searched 
them from my youth, and have often been much comforted, 
and my heart has often glowed within me, whilst the blessed 
and holy spirit of Christ, which was in the prophets and 
apostles, brought the Scriptures to my remembrance, and 
opened the mysteries thereof in me : and therefore, to the 
Word of God, which the noble Bereans received with all 
readiness of mind before they searched the Scriptures, do I 
refer thee ; even to the ingrafted Word, which is able to 

*Born in Cumberland, England, In 1667. Visited America as a 
minister of the Gospel in 1698. Was appointed Recorder of the city of 
Philadelphia by his intimate friend, William Penn. Returned to 
England in 1714, Died in 1742. See Life in FriencW Library, vol. 10, p. 
1, etc. 



112 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

save thy soul, if thou believest therein ; that, by the light 
and power of it, thou mayst read and understand, and have 
the Scriptures (as well the divine law of God written in 
thy heart, as the letter of the book) opened unto thee." 

The following incident illustrates the great difference 
there is between a theoretical assent of the mind to the 
truths of religion, and that living conviction of their reality 
which flows from the revelations of the Light of Christ, and 
the experience of his work in the heart. 

A minister of great ability, Avho, years ago, preached in 
the vicinity of New York, was remarkable for the earnest- 
ness with which he set forth the doctrine of self-denial, and 
the cross. This was distasteful to some of his hearers, one 
of whom, in consequence, for a long time absented himself 
from the congregation. One morning, he concluded again 
to go and hear the preacher, that he might ascertain 
whether his preaching was any more to his taste than for- 
merly. The discourse was on the " narrow way, and of a 
new creature in Christ, or eternal condemnation." During 
the sermon, the question was forced on the conscience of the 
hearer — " How is it with myself? Does this man declare 
the real truth? If he does, what must inevitably follow 
from it?" 

These thoughts took such hold on him, that he could not 
get rid of them in the midst of his business or amusements. 
He at last resolved to go to the preacher and ask him upon 
his conscience if he was convinced of the truth of that 
which he preached. He went and said to him with great 
earnestness, " I was one of your hearers when you spoke a 
short time since of the way of salvation. I confess to you, 
you have disturbed my peace of mind, and I cannot refrain 
from asking you solemnly before God and upon your con- 
science, if you can prove what you asserted, or whether it 
was unfounded alarm." 

The preacher, not a little surprised, informed him that it 
was the doctrine of Holy Scripture, and therefore infallible 
truth. "What, then, is to become of us?" replied the 
visitor. The word "lis" startled the preacher, but he rallied 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 113 

his thoughts, and began to explain the plan of salvation. 
But the inquirer, as though he had heard nothing of what 
the preacher said, interrupted him in the midst of it, and 
repeated with increasing emotion the anxious exclamation, 
"If it he truth, sir, I beseech you, what are we to do?" 
Terrified, the preacher thought, " Wei what means this we?" 
But he endeavored to stifle his inward uneasiness, and re- 
sumed his exhortations. Tears came into the eyes of the 
visitor; he smote his hands together and exclaimed, "Sir, 
if it be truth, we are lost and undone?" The preacher stood, 
trembling and overwhelmed with astonishment, lie soon, 
however, kneeled in supplication with his visitor, after 
which the latter departed. 

The preacher then shut himself up in his closet, and for 
two weeks was not seen by his congregation. He then ap- 
peared before his hearers, pale and worn by inward conflict, 
and acknowledged to them that before his recent experience, 
he had never really entered in at the strait gate. The Light 
of Christ had shown him in measure the difference between 
the wisdom of man, and the grace and power of God. 

This striking narrative brings to mind the somewhat 
similar case of Taulerus,* a celebrated preacher who resided 
at Strasburgh, Germany. About the year 1340, when in 
the height of his popularity, he became acquainted with a 
layman of deep religious experience, who saw that Taulerus 
preached from a knowledge of the Scriptures, and by the 
aid of his own reason ; and that he knew not experimentally 
those truths which he so eloquently and learnedly pro- 
claimed to the people. The labors of this layman were 
blessed to the opening of the eyes of his friend, who ceased 
for a considerable time to minister to others, and passed 
through a season of retirement and humiliation, in which 
he was divinely instructed in the things of God, and pre- 
pared to speak, now in the demonstration of the Spirit, and 
with power. He saw that Avhile he had proclaimed to others 
the necessity of self-denial and perfect submission to the 
Divine will, his own life had not corresponded therewith ; 

*A clergyman of the order of St. Dominic. Born 1290, died 1379. 
Resided at Strasburgh, Germany. 



1 14 I N C I D E N T S A X D K E F L E C T 1 N S . 

and that to love, honor and ohey God, had not been his 
ruling principle. 

A stratagem of Satan, Avhich has been often successful, is 
to suggest to those who are under Divine visitation, and 
who would not dare to directly refuse .obedience, to put off 
till a more convenient season, their yielding to Divine re- 
quiring.?. The experience of many shows how important it 
is for those who are favored with Divine impressions, to be 
on their guard against improper delay in attending to the 
duties pointed out to them. 

On one occasion, as our late valued friend, Hannah 
Gibbons,* was going from Birmingham to her home in 
AVest Chester, her mind was brought under religious exer- 
cise, with an impression that it would be right to call at a 
house by the roadside, with whose inmates she had no 
acquaintance. She mentioned her concern to the Friend 
who drove the carriage. He expressed his willingness to 
do whatever she desired, but suggested that as the day was 
waning, and the roads deep and heavy, it might be better 
, then to go on home, and promised to take her to call on the 
family, when a suitable opportunity presented. To this 
suggestion Hannah yielded, and they pursued their journey 
without calling. 

The opportunity for the discharge of a religious duty, 
which was thus allowed to pass unimproved, never returned. 
For, on a subsequent visit to the house it was ascertained, 
that the family had removed in the interim to a distant 
part of the country; and the burden of an unfulfilled duty 
doubtless rested uncomfortably on the mind of this consci- 
entious and tender-spirited Friend. 

When Joseph Hoag* was a young man, he had occasion 
to go about twelve miles from home on business, into a part 
of the country where he had no knowledge of the people. 

* A minister in the Society of Friends, who died at West Chester, 
Pennsylvania, in ISMS, aged ninety-seven years. 

* See note, p. lll'J. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 115 

He says : " As I came in sight of a house, I felt it my duty 
to stop and go into it. As I continued to approach the 
house, this sense of duty increased with so much weight, 
that I was afraid to pass by without attending to it. I 
accordingly alighted and went in. As I entered the door, 
this portion of Scripture powerfully ran through my mind : 
' Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live.' 
I was exceedingly struck with the language, and instead of 
expressing it as I ought to have done, 1 sat down and 
reasoned, until a cloud came over my mind, when I thou- lit 
that I was too young, and had not arrived at that degree of 
experience, which would justify me in delivering such a 
solemn and awful message ; querying with myself, how did 
I know but that it was all the work of the wicked one to 
destroy me. I arose and went away, carrying with me a 
heavy heart and a distressed mind for this omission of duty, 
which continued with me for a long time. After accom- 
plishing my errand, on passing the house as I was returning 
the next day, the same impression came over me, but I rode 
by and Avent home, losing my peace and my testimony, 
which did not return to me for months. All this I kept to 
myself. 

" About a year after, as I was passing the same house, my 
former exercise came fresh in my remembrance, and I 
thought I would call at another house near, and inquire after 
the family, where I was told that a great change had taken 
place in it ; that the parents with twelve children all living 
at home had neither witnessed death nor sickness of any 
serious consequence till within the past year, but that lately 
the mother and seven of the children had died of a fever 
within a few weeks of each other. I then inquired if they 
were religious people, but was informed that they were not 
at all so. Previous to hearing this, I had passed through 
deep sufferings and sore chastisings for my want of obedi- 
ence, thinking at times if I could have my peace restored, 
I would accomplish any duty required of me hereafter, if 
I could only be sure it w r as a right requisition, for I greatly 
feared being deceived, or running without right authority, 
and desired to knoAv for a certainty whether I had done 



116 INCIDENTS AND EE FLECTIONS. 

wrong or not in withholding as I did. At length this 
language opened to my mind : ' As thou didst it not through 
wilful disobedience, but through fear of being deceived, 
there is forgiveness for thee ;' and my peace in good measure 
returned to me, and I appeared in public again a number 
of times to my own comfort. But on hearing of the deaths 
in this family, I was beset by the enemy, who insinuated to 
my mind, ' that now I knew for a certainty that I had dis- 
obeyed the word of the Lord; that I had not warned the 
wicked, and they had died in their sins ; that now their 
blood was required at my hands, and cried against me as 
Abel's cried against Cain ;' and thus I was sorely buffeted 
by Satan, who tried to persuade me that the idea of my 
finding forgiveness was only imagination, till I was almost 
driven to despair ; so that had not the Lord in mercy 
rebuked the serpent, I should have sunk under the affliction, 
for which favor I desire to praise his ever-adorable name. 

" Here 1 can but remark, that had I, instead of entering 
into reasoning, turned my mind to the Lord with a humble 
prayer that He would preserve me from all delusion, and 
u-ive me strength to do his will, no doubt I should have 
been enabled to do my duty, have enjoyed peace and a 
tranquil mind, and escaped the buffetings of Satan. Oh ! 
I should have been spared the loss of much time, missed 
an abundance of sorrow and woe, and have been better able 
to fill up my duty, both in a temporal and in a religious 
line. I have suffered almost every way on account of my 
remissness herein, for when my mind was so much perplexed, 
I was not able to manage 'my temporal affairs to good 
account. May these portions of sorrowful experience be 
lessons of lasting instruction to my posterity." 

The National Farmer relates a case in which the prompt 
use of a passing opportunity enabled a watchful Christian 
to be helpful to a brother and to fill his own eyes with tears 
of gladness. He was a travelling salesman, and on his way 
to the depot, in a town in Illinois, was accosted by a 
stranger, a young man of about twenty-five years of age, 
and invited' to stop and have a glass of beer. "I do not 
drink," was the reply. '•Come, have a cigar, and let us 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 117 

enjoy a game of cards," persisted the stranger, pointing to a 
saloon near by. " I don't smoke nor play cards. Won't 
you walk with me to the depot?" said the traveller. It 
was the one opportunity to do good, and it was not lost. 
As they walked on together the evil course of the stranger 
and its inevitable results were clearly and kindly pointed 
out. His mother was brought to remembrance, and there 
was an earnest and affectionate appeal to be reconciled to 
God. 

The stranger broke down in tears and was again urged 
to give his heart to Christ. As the train came up, with 
tears streaming down his cheeks, he promised not only to 
join a temperance society, but also that he would try to be 
a Christian. 

For some days frequent and earnest prayer was offered 
for him, but soon business matters forced the thoughts of 
the man from the mind of the traveller. 

Two years or more passed, and one morning, in a town in 
Northern Ohio, the one who had been faithful to an oppor- 
tunity was called to his door to receive from a stranger the 
greeting : " Don't you know me ? " Grasping his hand with 
an expression of gladness, the stranger gave a name which 
recalled the incident in Illinois. He was the young man. 
He had kept his promise and had come to Christ, and the 
eyes of him who had been instrumental in turning a sinner 
from the error of his ways, and of him who had been 
turned, were both filled with tears of gladness. 

There is no case in which the importance of being " in- 
stant in season " is more vitally pressing, than where the 
visitations of heavenly love are extended to the soul, invit- 
ing man to submit himself to the government of God, to 
take up his cross and follow in the way in which his Saviour 
would lead him. Thousands have had cause bitterly to 
lament that they turned aside from these invitations, and 
deferred to a future day that work which man cannot do 
of himself, and which depends upon that assisting Grace — 
of whose renewed visits he has no control. 



118 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

What a warning is contained in a narrative given in the 
American Messenger of a young man of good moral character, 
and respected in the community in which he lived, but who 
seemed insensible to religious impressions at a time when 
much interest was awakened on such subjects among his 
associates ! To one who conversed with him on his indif- 
ference, he made the following statement : — 

" I do not doubt that this is the work of God. I rejoice in 
your success. But as for myself I feel no interest. I know 
full well that I am not reconciled to God, and that I am 
hastening on to a sinner's doom; but clearly as I perceive 
this, I feel no alarm. These precious calls, these offers of 
mercy, this pardon of sin, this salvation, this peace and joy, 
is for others, but not for me. A life of darkness, an end of 
utter darkness, lies before me. For others there is hope. 
For me there is no hope. Once I too might have turned 
and found eternal life. Now it is too late. 

" When I was in college, I passed through scenes similar 
to these we are now witnessing. Then the Spirit of (rod 
came, and many obeyed his call. I too was so distressed 
that I could not study. I felt that my soul demanded my 
immediate attention. But to attend to my soul I thought I 
must give up the studies in which I was deeply interested, 
and sacrifice the literary mark I had set before me. After 
struggling awhile with my convictions, I deliberately re- 
solved to put off all consideration of the interests of my 
soul till I was through college, and then give my undivided 
attention. 

"No sooner was this determination formed, than I felt 
that the Spirit had left me. I was troubled with no anxiety, 
no seriousness. Others were burdened and distressed, but 
I was free to plunge into my books. Others found peace 
and sang a new song, but even this did not disturb me. 

" I passed through that revival, callous to every gospel 
appeal. My college life is now over. The time that I 
had fixed to seek the salvation of my soul has come. The 
Spirit <>f God is again poured out, but the anxiety I once had 
does not return. 1 have not the least disposition to act. 



I N C I I) E N T S A X 1) R B F LECTIONS. 119 

I believe the truth of the message you bring. I have the 
fullest conviction of the reality of the judgment of eternal 
life for those who come to Christ, and of eternal death for 
those who do not come, and yet my heart is not moved. I 
know that my companions are pressing into the kingdom 
while I am left behind, yet this does not disturb me. 1 have 
so grieved the Spirit of God, that I have no hope the Spirit 
will ever return to bid my soul live." 

Whether this individual was ever favored with a renewal 
of the offers of grace, we know not; but his experience may 
well remind us of the petition of the Royal Psalmist, when 
he had greatly offended: "Take not thy Holy Spirit from 
me." 

A writer in the Christian Soldier gives the following inci- 
dent, which was related to him by a Christian brother. 

Some few years ago, I was clerk in a store. One day 
a hired man of my employers, whom I knew to he destitute 
of religion, came into the store. I felt it my duty to speak 
to him on the subject of his soul's salvation ; but my wicked 
heart invented a thousand excuses — He may not receive it 
kindly, thought I, since I am younger than he ; I had bet- 
ter keep silence until a more favorable opportunity. Con- 
science told me these excuses were vain, and a voice seemed 
to say, "Speak to the man :" but I refused to listen. But 
mark the result. The next day he was taken sick, became 
dangerous, and on the third day he died. Oh that I had 
listened to the voice of God's Spirit, and done my duty ! 
Perhaps I might have been instrumental in the saving of 
his soul from perdition ; at least I might have cleared my 
own skirts, and washed my own hands in innocency. 

In the Memoirs of Elizabeth Collins* of Upper Evesham, 
N. J., she mentions that as she was sitting in a meeting at her 
home, under exercise, a few words presented to express, but 
for want of attending singly to the opening, she gave way 

* See note, p. 59. 



120 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

to reasoning, and put off expressing them, until the meeting 
was nearly over; when the language was intelligibly spoken 
in her inward ear, " If thou art not more faithful, thy gift 
shall be taken from thee." She says, " The language was 
awful ; I was brought to see the deplorable situation I should 
be left in, if after receiving so precious a gift, I should 
neglect to improve it, and it should be taken away, and I 
left poor and distressed I was led to cry for mercy and 
for strength to be more faithful ; and in fear and trembling 
I arose and expressed what was before me." 



PART II. 



FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. 



CHAPTER V. 

Repentance. Confession. Restitution. Boy in a store. Young Woman 
who had Stolen. Young Man who had Burnt a School-house. The 
Stray Sheep. "Let Hini that Stole, Steal no more." The Honest 
Coal Merchant. Dr. Johnson's Repentance. Dr. John Todd. The 
Tramp. Abraham Lincoln's Honesty. The Poy who Couldn't be 
Dishonest. The Robber and the Gold Watch. Self-restraint. The 
little Shoes did it. Warning in a Saloon. Samuel Bettle's Sermon. 
Edward Wright and the Drowning Boy. Plainness. Daniel Wheeler. 
John Ricnardson. Job Scott. God Does Not Need These. Jacob 
Green and the Skeleton. Joseph Booth. The Early Methodists. 
She took up the Cross in all Things. Michael Robson's Convince- 
ment. David Ferris. Samuel Neale. Unprofitable Amusements. 
Half an Hour to Live. Cardinal Mazarin. Playing Cards. Could 
not give up the World. Dr. Johnson and David Garrick. 

One of the early effects of Divine Grace on those who 
yield themselves np to its government and guidance, is 
repentance for their past sins, and confession and restitution, 
so far as is practicable, to those who have been wronged. 

A lad who was employed about the store of a mercantile 
firm, was once tempted to take a few cents belonging to his 
employers, to obtain the means of procuring some gratifica- 
tion which his appetite craved. He knew that the act was 
wrong, but endeavored to quiet his conscience by determin- 
ing to replace the money at a future time. The same thing 
11 



122 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

was frequently repeated, until his indebtedness had increased 
from a few cents to a few dollars ; and if it had not been for 
the preserving care of his Heavenly Father, whose tender 
mercy is over all his works, and who seeks to reclaim his 
wandering children from the paths of sin, the erring boy 
might have gone to still greater lengths in the way to ruin. 
He still kept in his mind the sum which he had clandes- 
tinely taken, and never lost sight of the purpose of restoring 
it. Coming more under the influence of serious impressions, 
his convictions for the wrong step he had taken were strength- 
ened ; and the feeling gradually settled on his mind, that 
before he could hope to experience Divine forgiveness and 
the return of true peace, he must humble himself so far as 
to make confession of his fault to the person wronged. He 
clearly saw that it would not be sufficient secretly to restore 
the money. The natural will struggled strongly against 
bearing this cross ; but he found there was no other way to 
obtain relief than to submit to the judgments of the Lord, 
and to lie as with his mouth in the dust, so that he might 
obtain hope. He was strengthened to yield up his will in 
this matter, and to resolve that as soon as he was able, he 
would return the money, with an open acknowledgement of 
the cause which required it. Some years elapsed before he 
was in a position to earn anything by his own labors — and 
the discharge of this obligation was one of the earliest uses 
to which his earnings were applied. He received a kind 
letter in response from one of his former employers, acknowl- 
edging its receipt. During the years in which this load 
rested upon him, before it was thus happily thrown off, he 
kept among his papers a written statement of the transac- 
tion ; so that it might be made known to those interested, if 
any accident should prevent the fulfilling of his resolution. 

This anecdote is by no means a singular one ; but simple 
as it is, it has seemed to the writer to be instructive, and to 
furnish an illustration of the Scripture declaration, " He 
that covereth his sins shall not prosper : but whoso confe-^eth 
and forsaketh them shall have mercy." 

In the Acts of the Apostles it is said that Paul continued 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 128 

on one occasion for two years in Ephesus, " disputing and 
persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." — 
Special miracles were wrought by his hands, and the word 
of God mightily grew and prevailed. One effect especially 
noticed of this work of Divine Grace was, that " many that 
believed came, and confessed and showed their deeds.'" 

An interesting case of this kind is mentioned in the 
Memoirs of the late Charles G. Finney * the President of 
Oberlin College. On one occasion he resided for a time in 
the city of New York ; and while there was visited by a 
young woman, whose conscience had been awakened. She 
had been in the habit of pilfering from her childhood ; tak- 
ing from her schoolmates and others, handkerchiefs, breast- 
pins, pencils, and whatever she had an opportunity to steal. 
She made confession respecting some of these things, and 
asked what she should do. He told her she must return 
them, and make confession to those from whom she had 
taken them. Her convictions were so deep that she dare 
not withhold, and so she began the work of making confes- 
sion and restitution. As she went forward with it, she con- 
tinued to recall more and more instances of the kind ; for 
her thefts had extended to almost every kind of article that 
a young woman could use. From time to time she would 
call on her friend, and report what she had done. He 
relates what took place in one particular instance, as follows: 

One day she informed me that she had a shawl, which 
she had stolen from a daughter of Bishop Hobart, then 
bishop of New York, whose residence was on St. John's 
Square, and near St. John's Church. As usual, I told her 
she must restore it. A few days after she called and related 
to me the result. She said she folded up the shawl in a 

* Born in Connecticut in 1792. Was President of Oberlin College, and 
noted as a revival preacher. Died in 1875. See Memoir, published by 
A. S. Barnes & Co., New York. 



124 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

paper, and went with it, and rung the bell at the bishop's 
door; and when the servant came, she handed him the 
bundle directed to the bishop. She made no explanation, 
but turned immediately away, and ran around the corner 
into another street, lest some one should look out and see 
which way she went, and find out who she was. But after 
she got around the corner, her conscience smote her, and 
she said to herself, " I have not done this thing right. Some- 
body else may be suspected of having stolen the shawl, 
unless I make known to the bishop who did it." 

She turned around, went immediately back, and inquired 
if she could see the bishop. Being informed that she could, 
she was conducted to his study. She then confessed to him, 
told him about the shawl, and all that had passed. " Well," 
said I, " and how did the bishop receive you ?" " Oh," said 
she, "when I told him, he wept, laid his hand on my head, 
and said he forgave me, and prayed God to forgive me." 
" And have you been at peace in your mind," said I, " about 
that transaction since?" "O yes !" said she. This process 
continued for weeks, and I think for months. This girl 
was going from place to place in all parts of the city, re- 
storing things that she had stolen, and making confession." 

The result of this thorough work was what might have 
been expected — humility, brokenness of heart, contrition of 
spirit, and finally, love, joy and peace. When the time 
drew near for C. G. Finney to leave New York, he men- 
tioned the case to his friend A. G. Phelps, who promised to 
watch over her for good. She subsequently married, and 
appears to have maintained a consistent Christian character. 

The same author gives the experience of a young man, 
who resided in Oneida County, New York, which strikingly 
portrays the pernicious effects produced on the minds of 
young and excitable people by reading works of a sensa- 
tional character. This young man having been visited by 
Divine Grace, and brought under deep conviction for sin, 
made the following statement: 

Several years ago, a book was put into my hands called, 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 125 

" The pirate's own book." I read it and it produced a most, 
extraordinary effect upon my mind. It inspired me with a 
kind of terrible and infernal ambition to be the greatest 
pirate that ever lived. I made up my mind to be at the 
head of all the highway robbers and bandits and pirates, 
whose history was ever written. But my religious education 
was in my way. The teaching and prayers of my parents 
seemed to rise up before me, so that I could not go forward. 
But I had heard that it was possible to grieve the Spirit of 
God away, and to quench his influence so that one would 
feel it no more. I had read also that it was possible to 
sear my conscience, so that that would not trouble me. 
After my resolution was taken, my first business was to get 
rid of my religious convictions, so as to be able to go on and 
perpetrate all manner of robberies and murders, without any 
compunction of conscience. 

After a little while I made up my mind that I would 
commit some crime, and see how it would affect mo. There 
was a school-house across the way from our house; and one 
evening I went and set it on fire. I then went to my room 
and to bed. Soon, -however, the fire was discovered. I 
arose, and mingled with the crowd that gathered to put it 
out ; but all our efforts were in vain, and it burnt to the 
ground. 

The first step which the awakened sinner felt impelled to 
take, was to call on one of the trustees of the property that 
had been so wantonly destroyed, and make to him a full 
confession. He was a religious man, and was deeply affected 
by the recital. He undertook to inform the other trustees 
of the circumstance ; and told the penitent youth, that he 
believed they would all unite in forgiving him for what had 
been done. 

But the mind of this returning prodigal was not yet at 
ease. A public meeting for religious worship was to be held 
in the evening. To this he went, and meeting Finney at 
the door of the house, told him that he must make a public 
confession : that several young men had been suspected of 
this thing, and he wished the people to know who had done 
it, and that he had no accomplice. He added, " Mr. Fin- 
11* 



126 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

nev, won't } r ou tell the people ? I will be present, and say 
anything that may be necessary to say, if any body should 
ask any questions ; but I do not feel as if I could open my 
mouth. You can tell them all about it." His family were 
well known and much beloved in the community ; and the 
statement of the facts made a great impression. The people 
sobbed and wept all over the congregation. 

The experience of the awakened sinner in all ages, is 
typified by the parable of the Prodigal Son. The work of 
the Holy Spirit on his heart ever leads him to adopt the 
language, " I will arise and go to my Father, and say unto 
him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and in thy 
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son." And 
those who have submitted to the government of the Prince 
of Peace, and have enrolled themselves under his banner, 
when they see such returning wanderers, will still partake 
of that joy which is felt in heaven over every sinner that 
repenteth. 

The duty of confessing our sins and making restitution 
when we have wronged others, is so strongly impressed 
upon the heart of him who truly repents, that where we 
find persons unwilling to submit to it, there is room to doubt 
whether they have yet fully yielded their hearts to the con- 
victing power of Divine Grace. There may be and proba- 
bly are, many cases in which the awakened sinner is not 
led to make open confession of his former evil deeds; be- 
cause there may lie reasons which would render it improper ; 
yet he ought in every instance to be so humbled under the 
power of God, as to be made willing to take shame to him- 
self, and to do whatever he is convinced is called for at his 
hands. This humility and surrender of self are essential to 
enable any one to go through the narrow, "gtrait" gate 
which is the only entrance to the highway that leads to the 
Kingdom of Heaven. 



[INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS 127 

Among the hills of northern New England were two in- 
fidel neighbors. One of these heard the gospel message, 
was impressed therewith, and enabled to bow in heart to 
the visitations of that Grace which hath appeared unto all 
men, and which bringeth salvation to those who are guided 
by it. This Grace, the apostle says, teaches us, among 
other duties, to live righteously ; and the convicted sinner 
felt that he had wronged his neighbor. No doubt his pride 
rebelled against making the acknowledgment of his fault; 
but the terrors of the Lord for disobedience are a fearful 
burthen to an aroused conscience — as the Scriptures query, 
"A wounded spirit who can bear?" So he visited his infidel 
neighbor and informed him of the change that had taken 
place in his feelings as to religion. The other replied that 

he had heard of it, and was surprised, because he had 
thought him about as sensible a man as there was in town. 

"Well," said the Christian, "I have; got a duty to do to 
you, and I want you to stop talking and hear me. I haven't, 
slept much for two nights for thinking of it. 1 have four 
sheep in my Hock that belong to you. They came into my 
field six years ago; and I knew they had your mark on 
them, but I took them and marked them with my mark; and 
you inquired all around and could not hear anything of 
them. But they an; in my Held, with the increase of them; 
and now I want to settle this matter. I have lain awake 
nights and groaned over it, and I have come to get rid of 
it. And now I am at your option. T will do just what 
you say. If it is a few years in State's prison 1 will suffer 
that. If it is money or property you want, say the word. 
I have a good farm and money at interest, and you can 
have all you ask. I want to settle, this matter up and get 
rid of it." 

The infidel was amazed. He began to tremble. 

"If you have got them sheep you are welcome to them. 
I don't want nothing of you, if you will only go away; a 
man that will come to me as you have — something must, 
have got hold of you that I don't understand. You may 
have the sheep, if you will only go away." 

"No," said the Christian, "I must settle this matter up 



128 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

and pay for the sheep; I shall not be satisfied ■without. 
And you must tell me how much." 

"Well," said the skeptic, "if you must pay me, you may 
give me what the sheep were worth when they got into your 
field, and pay me six per cent, on the amount, and go off 
and let me alone." 

The man counted out the value of the sheep and the in- 
terest on the amount, and laid it down, and then doubled 
it, and laid as much more down beside it, and went his 
way ; leaving a load on his neighbor's heart almost as heavy 
as that which he himself had borne. 

One result which followed from this honest confession 
and restitution, was the conviction forced on the mind of 
the man who had lost the sheep, that there was something 
real in the power of religion ; and lie himself was afterwards 
frequently seen in the assemblies of those met to worship 
the Lord. 

It is related of — Nott * a missionary to one of the islands 
in the Pacific Ocean, that he preached a sermon one day 
on the words, "Let him that stole steal no more." In the 
sermon he said that it was a duty to return things that had 
formerly been stolen. 

The next morning when he opened his door, he saw a 
number of natives sitting on the ground around the house, 
lie was surprised to see them there so early, and asked why 
they had come. "We have not been able to sleep all 
night," they said. "We were at the chapel yesterday, and 
heard you say that Jehovah commanded us not to steal; 
whereas we used to worship a god who we thought would 
protect thieves. We have stolen, and all these things we 
have brought with us are stolen iroods." Then one of the 
men held up a saw, -saying, "I stole this from the carpen- 
ters of such and such a ship." Others held up knives and 
various tools. 

"Why have you brought them to mef" asked the mis- 
sionary. "Take them home, and wait till the ships from 

* Probably Samuel Nott, Jr., born at Norwich, Connecticut, and for 
many years a missionary tn the East Indies. In 1850 he, published a 
treatise on Slavery. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 129 

which you stole them come again, and then return them, 
with a present besides/' Still the people begged him to 
keep the things until they could find the owners. One 
man, who had stolen from a missionary, then being on an- 
other island, took a voyage of seventy miles, to restore the 
goods. 

That is the only way to improve by preaching— doing 
what it says. How many people form good resolutions when 
they hear a sermon which touches the heart and conscience ; 
but how few such resolutions are set to action. 

"Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving 
your ownselves." 

A recent writer speaks of a friend, naturally of a gloomy 
turn of mind, who had much peace and joy during a long 
illness that ended in death. Speaking to his widow as to 
the cause of this, which seemed in one of his temperament 
somewhat remarkable, she said that her husband gratefully 
noticed the fact, and next to the hope of salvation which he 
had through Jesus Christ, he thought that it was because he 
had never once knowingly cheated any one of a lump of coal, 
his business being that of a coal-merchant. 

It is often the case that wrongs have been committed, for 
which there is no way of atoning, however sincere the re- 
pentance. 

There is a touching story of the famous Dr. Samuel 
Johnson, * which has had an influence on many a boy who 
has heard it. Samuel's father, Michael Johnson, was a 
poor bookseller in Lichfield, England. On market day he 
used to carry a package of books to the village of Uttoxe- 
ter, and sell them from a stall in the market-place. One 
day the bookseller was sick, and asked his son to go and 
sell the books in his place. Samuel, from a silly pride, re- 
fused to obey. 

Fifty years afterwards, Johnson became the celebrated 

* Born in 1709, died in 1784. One of the most distinguished of English 
writers. Author of an English Dictionary and of numerous other 
works. 



130 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

author, the compiler of the "English Dictionary," and one 
of the most distinguished scholars in England, hut he never 
forgot his act of unkindness to his poor, hard-toiling father ; 
so, when he visited Uttoxeter, he determined to show his 
sorrow and repentance. 

He went into the market-place at the time of business, un- 
covered his head, and stood there for an hour in a pouring 
rain, on the very spot where the book-stall used to stand. 
" This," he says, " was an act of contrition for my disobedi- 
ence to my kind father." 

Many a man in after-life has felt something harder and 
heavier than a storm of rain beating upon his head, when 
he remembered his acts of unkindness to a good father or 
mother now in their graves. 

Dr. John Todd* of Pittsfield, the eminent writer, never 
could forget how, when his old father was sick and sent him 
away for medicine, he (a little lad) had been unwilling to 
go, and made up a lie ''that the druggist had not got any 
such medicine." 

The old man was just dying when little Johnny came in, 
and said to him, "My boy, your father suffers great pain 
for want of that medicine." 

Johnny started in great distress for the medicine, but it 
was too iate. The father on his return was almost gone. 
He could only say to the weeping boy, "Love God, and 
always speak the truth, for the eye of God is always upon 
you. Now kiss me once more, and farewell." 

Through all his after life Dr. Todd often had a heartache 
over that act of falsehood and disobedience to his dying 
father. It takes more than a shower of rain to wash away 
the memory of such sins. Dr. Todd repented of that sin a 
thousand times. 

The Episcopal Recorder describes another case, in which 
the person would most gladly have relieved his conscience, 

* A Congregational minister. Author of numerous popular works. 
Of 5 fie Student's Manual, 170,000 copies have been sold. 



1 N C I D E N T S AND RE P 1, E C T 1 N B . 131 

by recompensing one to whom he had been unkind, but 
who had passed beyond his reach. The account says: 

"I shall never forget that poor body. Long years have 
passed away since I saw her. I have had children born, 
and they have grown up and gone forth into the world, and 
have married, and their children are growing up; but that 
poor woman with her half-starved babe — again and again 
has it passed before my mental vision, and up to the pres- 
ent hour, it always brings with it a feeling of sorrow. Yes, 
God has forgiven that hasty word ; but he who uttered it 
can never forgive himself. ' As far as the east is from the 
west, so far have I removed thy transgressions from thee.' 
So the Lord speaks ; and the transgressions may be removed 
and the sins may be covered ; but there the mother was, and 
I seem to see her still. She bad broken some sticks out of 
the hedge, had made a fire by the roadside, and was sitting 
down thereat, warming herself and her little babe." 

We speak in our friend's own words. " Yes, I have made 
every excuse for myself, but all will not do. I lived near 
the high road, and my fields adjoined it; and again and 
again were my hedges torn and burned by tramps as they 
passed along the road — one party first, and then another 
and another, kindling a fire on a small piece of waste ground 
adjoining. I was young then, and was often vexed, and 
sometimes angry — very angry — but vexation and anger 
only made the matter more unbearable. The remembrance 
of anger cleaves to one, as it has to me for many long years ; 
and, now T that the cares of business are laid aside, memory 
goes back, and the paths of former days are traversed over 
again. There were hasty words then as well as angry feel- 
ings ; and that morning from a distance, I saw T the going up 
of the smoke, and I rode quickly to the spot, and I saw r the 
hedge torn and the wood burning, and I spoke to the poor 
woman who was sitting by the fire. I mentioned the police- 
man and the prison, and I threatened the one and the other. 
In a moment she sprang to her feet. She was a miserable 
object to look upon. She stood before me trembling from 
head to foot. She had not time, nor did she care, to adjust 
her dress. The babe was hanging on her bosom, which 



132 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

was lirowiied by exposure and want. There stood the 
trembling mother, and there I sat on my horse, and the 
thought rushed over me of my own home and my babe, 
and its fond and loving and ailing mother. Yes, she had 
been sick, and the poor woman before me had evidently 
been sick ; but one had every comfort that love could pro- 
vide, and the other, from sheer want, had broken my hedge 
to gain a little warmth for herself and babe. The contrast 
was very great. There were two mothers and their two 
babes, and who made the difference ? That thought crossed 
my mind, and perhaps the verse from Dr. Watts, did, but I 
cannot remember: — 

"'How many, helpless in the street, 
Half-naked I behold! 
While I am clothed from head to feet* 
And sheltered from the cold."" 

"Who made one to (litter from the other? In a moment 
these feelings had passed through my mind. There stood 
the woman trembling before me. My anger was gone, but 
I could not easily pacify the poor creature. I gave her 
some kind words: I gave her something more substantial 
than words ; but she went on her way trembling as an aspen 
leaf, and methinks I see her now. God taught me a lesson 
on that day which I shall never forget. A spark of pity 
for sorrowing ones fell upon my heart, and burnt its way 
into my soul. 

"I have sometimes thought, ' Perhaps that poor woman 
was in the covenant of grace, and I was a professor. Were 
we a son and a daughter of the Lord God Almighty? Was 
she a sister of Jesus? Was she my sister in Him of whom 
the whole family in heaven and earth is named?'" 

So spoke my friend ; and may God bless these remarks 
to whom He will. May He use them to stir up others to 
avoid hasty words, and never let us forget that we have all 
one Father, and that one God hath created us. 

Another " fruit of the spirit" which will be manifested by 
all those who have been " changed from darkness to light," 
is strict honesty and conscientiousness. 



INCIDENTS AND R E V L E T I X S . 133 

A pleasant anecdote ia related of Abraham Lincoln, who 
at one time acted as Post Master of a small office. Several 
years elapsed after he had resigned the position before his 
accounts were adjusted, and the agent of the department 
called on him for a settlement. He produced the amount 
which, during all that time, he had kept carefully laid 
away, remarking that he never -used any man's mottey but his 
own. 

Because they have not acted on this principle of never 
using any man's money but their own, many have suffered in 
reputation, and have found themselves entangled in almost 
inextricable difficulties without any dishonest intention. 
They have allowed money belonging to others in their 
hands to become mingled with their own ; the feeling that 
funds were at their control has encouraged expenses which 
might have been avoided ; the want of strict business habits, 
which would lead them closely to scrutinize their income, 
outgoings, and liabilities, has in some cases added to their 
embarrassment ; and a time of reckoning has caught them 
when unprepared to meet it. We doubt not there are 
thousands who have had cause bitterly to repent that they 
had not been as scrupulous in this respect as Abraham 
Lincoln. 

The anecdote above narrated illustrates what was a usual 
habit with him. He had always a partner in his profess- 
ional life, and, when he went out upon the circuit, this 
partner was usually at home. While out, he frequently 
took up and disposed of cases that were never entered at 
the office. In these cases, after receiving his fees, he divided 
the money in his pocket-book, labelling each sum (wrapped 
in a piece of paper) that belonged to his partner, stating his 
name, and the case on which it was received. He divided 
the money so that if by any casualty he should fail of an 
opportunity to pay it over, there could be no dispute as to 
the exact amount that was his partner's due. 
12 



134 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

The same honesty was exhibited in Abraham Lincoln's 
conduct after he had been admitted to the bar, and came 
to practice as a lawyer. His biographer says of him : " If 
a man went to him with the proposal to institute a suit, he 
examined carefully the man's grounds for the action. If 
these were good, he entered upon the case, and prosecuted 
it faithfully to the end. If the grounds were not good, he 
would have nothing to do with the case. He invariably 
advised the applicant to dismiss the matter, telling him 
frankly he had no case and ought not to prosecute. Some- 
times he discovered, in the middle of a trial, by the revela- 
tion of a witness, that his client had lied to him. After 
the moment that he was convinced that justice was opposed 
to him and his client, he lost all his enthusiasm and all 
his courage. He would not strive to make the worse appear 
the better reason for any man. As a citizen, as a lover of 
good order, as a man who believed in truth and justice, he 
was, by every instinct of his nature, opposed to the success 
of villainy and the triumph of wrong, and he would not 
sell himself to purposes of injustice and immorality. He 
repeatedly refused to take fees on the wrong side of a case. 
When his clients had practised gross deception upon him, 
he forsook their cases in mid passage ; and he always re- 
fused to accept fees of those whom he advised not to prose- 
cute. On one occasion, while engaged upon an important 
case, he discovered that he was on the wrong side. His 
associate in the case was immediately informed that he 
[Lincoln] would not make the plea. The associate made 
it, and the case, much to the surprise of Lincoln, was decided 
for his client. Perfectly convinced that his client was 
wrong, he would not receive one cent of the fee of nine 
hundred dollars which he paid. It is not wonderful that 
one who knew him well spoke of him as " perversely honest." 

A sheep grower sold a number of sheep at a stipulated 
average price. When he delivered the animals, he delivered 
many lambs or sheep too young to come fairly within the 
terms of the contract. He was sued for damages by the 
injured party, and Lincoln was his attorney. At the trial, 
the facts as to the character of the sheep delivered were 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 135 

proved ; and several witnesses testified as to the usage by 
which all under a certain age were regarded as lambs and 
of inferior value. On comprehending the facts, Lincoln at 
once changed his line of effort, and confined himself to 
ascertaining the real number of inferior sheep delivered. 
On addressing the jury, he said that from the facts proved 
they must give a verdict against his client, and he only 
asked their scrutiny as to the actual damage suffered. 

An interesting illustration of that honesty which flows 
from the fear of God, is related in one of the volumes of The 
British Friend. It occurred at a time when great distress 
prevailed in some parts of England, particularly in Lanca- 
shire, owing to the suspension of work in the cotton factories. 

An old woman in humble life, who resided in that dis- 
trict, although not herself a " mill hand," found from the 
general depression of trade, that her little means were get- 
ting less and less, until the pressure grew too great to bear. 
In her sore poverty, she resolved to pack up the few articles 
she had left, and go to Preston, where she had a daughter 
who was married, and with whom she might live. She 
went to take leave of a minister of a congregation of which 
she was a member ; and on hearing her plan he endeavored 
to dissuade her from it ; urging her if possible to remain 
where she was in hope of better times, and adding that 
perhaps her daughter might be even worse off than herself. 
" That cannot be," said the old woman, " for I am very poor 
and have nothing left to live on ; I Anil go to my daughter, 
for that will be shelter for me at any rate." The minister 
finding that she had so miserable a prospect if she remained 
in her old dwelling, kindly gave her the amount of her 
railway fare to Preston and half a crown besides. 

When she reached Preston station, a crowd of boys sur- 
rounded her, begging to carry her box ; which she refused, 
as all the money now left in her purse was a half-crown and 
three pennies. One poor lacl with a piteous look, besought 
her very earnestly to let him take it for her, adding, " I will 
take it to any part of the town for two pence : do let me, 
for it is the only way I have to get a bit of bread, and we're 



1 36 I X C IDEX T B A X 1) R E F L E C T I X S . 

clemming (starving) at home." Small as was the sum the 
old woman had to begin anew her struggle with the world, 
she had a pitying heart, and the appeal thus made was 
enough. The lad shouldered the box, and followed her 
through the lamp-lit streets to a humble part of the town, 
where she knocked at the door of one of the houses ; and, 
after waiting awhile and receiving no answer, she found it 
was locked. 

Supposing the daughter might be out on some errand, 
she desired the boy to put down the box ; and paying him 
for his services, she seated herself on it by the door to await 
the daughter's return. After awhile the latter came up, 
and, on rinding her mother come to settle with her, burst 
into a lamentation: "Oh! why have you come? tor we are 
starving. I have been out trying to get a morsel for the 
children and I can't. What can we do ? 

Her mother calmed her a little, and begged her to open 
the door. " Let's go in anyhow, I have a half-crown in my 
pocket, and you can take that and buy something ; and that 
will carry us over to-morrow at any rate." They entered, 
and the old woman drew forth her purse to take the half- 
crown, when, to her dismay, she found she had paid it to 
the boy in the dim light of the evening in mistake for. a 
{Denny.' This was too much to bear and both the women 
sank down and cried long and bitterly over the prospect 
before them. The mother, however, was a truly Christian 
person; and when the first burst of sorrow was past, her 
faith rose triumphant over all. "Well," said she, "never 
mind, we have the two pence left, and let us be thankful to 
God for that, and for a roof over our heads: You take it; 
it will buy bread for you and the children to-night, and I 
will go to 'bed, for I shan't want anything, and let us hope 
God will provide for to-morrow when it comes." The daugh- 
ter did accordingly and that night passed away with its 
griefs and sorrows. 

With the early morning came a tap at the door, which 
the daughter opened. A boy stood there before her, who 
introduced himself rather briefly with, " Didn't I bring a 
box for an old woman here last night." " Yes, you did." 
"Where is she?" "Up stairs." "Then tell her to come 



[NCI DENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 137 

down, for I Avant to see her." Very soon the mother made 
her appearance and was greeted with " Missus, do you know 
you gave me a half-crown last-night instead of a penny ? 
because you did ; and I have brought it back, and here it is." 
" Yes, my lad, and I am very much obliged to you for bring- 
ing it back again. But I want to know how you came to do 
.so, for I thought you told me you were clemming at home." 
" Yes, we are very bad off," said the boy, brightening up as 
he spoke, " but I go to Sunday-School and I love Jesus, and 
I couldn't be dishonest." 

Precious indeed is that holy fear and confidence in God, 
which enabled this poor boy to resist the temptation to keep 
that which had been given to him in mistake, and led him 
to seek out its rightful owner. " This is the victory that 
overcometh the world, even our faith." 

Another illustration of conscientiousness was furnished by 

the head of a family named P who lived in the south 

of Ireland many years ago, and were much respected, not 
only for their wealth and station, but for moral worth and 
benevolence. 

They were connected with the Society of Friends, and 
lived consistently with their principles of peace and non- 
resistance, in the trying days of the commotions in Ireland 
in 1798. One night in those troublous times their house 
was broken into and spoiled by a band of robbers, who 
seemed fully aware of what valuables they might expect to 
obtain — a knowledge probably derived through some of the 
servants. As they were about to depart with their booty, 
one of them said to the wife, "You have a gold watch?" 
She had put it in her bosom at the attack, and now quietly 
replied, " No, I have not." Her husband was standing by, 
and when he heard her denial, he turned on her such a look 
and such a reproof, as she never met before from him. 
" Mary," he said, " I am ashamed of thee ! Would'st thou 
then barter thy sweet peace by an untruth, for the sake of 
thy gold watch ?" The rebuked wife stood abashed before 
12* 



138 I N C I D E X T S AND R E F I, E ( ' T IONS. 

her husband, and taking the watch from her bosom handed 
it over to the robber. 

Sometime after, the husband was sent for to the county 
town on an unexpected errand. The party of robbers had 
been arrested for another robbery, and he was sent for to 
identify his property, which was returned to him safely. 
In jail suspicion first rested on the leader of the gang, from 
the watch having been seen with him bearing her initials. 

That Divine Grace which brings salvation, not only teaches 
man " to live righteously" towards others, but to " live 
soberly" — that is with proper self-restraint over his appetites 
and inclinations. 

The Apostle Paul in one of his epistles, uses this sugges- 
tive language, " I keep my body under and bring it into 
subjection, lest by any means, when I have preached to 
others, I myself should become a cast-away." Of the need 
of such watchful care, and the sad consequences which flow 
from its neglect, we have thousands of mournful proofs, in 
the multitudes around us who are ruined by indulgence in 
the use of ardent spirits. We believe there are few, if any, 
of these victims of a depraved appetite, but have heard the 
warning voice in their souls, which would have saved them, 
if it had been heeded. We believe also, that there are few, 
if any, true Christians, but have known the cross to be laid 
on their appetites, and have felt that it was necessary for 
them to follow the example of the apostle, and bring the 
body "into subjection :" and this not only with reference to 
the use of spirituous liquors, but in all things. 

Among the many incidents connected with this subject, 
that float along the tide of public prints, there is a simple 
one that is interesting and touching ; showing how Divine 
Grace sometimes uses the power of natural affection to 
restrain the drunkard and awaken him to a sense of his re- 
sponsibilities. 



[NCI DENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 139 

A young man who had been reclaimed from the vice of 
intemperance, was called upon to tell how he was led to 
give up drinking. He arose, but looked for a moment very 
confused. All he could say was, "The little shoes, they did 
it s !" With a thick voice, as if his heart was in his throat, 
he kept repeating this. There was a, stare of perplexity on 
every face, and at length some thoughtless young people 
began to titter. The man in all his embarrassment heard 
this sound, and rallied at once. The light came into his 
eyes with a flash — he drew himself up and addressed the 
audience : the choking went from his throat. " Yes, friends," 
he said in a clear voice, " whatever you may think of it, I've 
told you the truth — the little shoes did it ! I was a brute 
and a fool : strong drink had made me both, and starved 
me into the bargain. 1 suffered; I deserved to suffer ; but 
I didn't suffer alone — no man doe- who has a wife and child, 
for the woman gets the worst abuse. But I am no speaker 
to enlarge on that; I'll stick to the little shoes. It was one 
night, when I was all but done for, the saloon keeper's child 
holding out her feet for her father to look at her hue new- 
shoes. It was a simple thing ; but, friends, no fist ever struck 
me such a blow as those little shoes. They kicked reason 
into me. What business have I to clothe others with fineries, 
and provide not even coarse clothing for my own, but let 
them go bare ? said I ; and there outside was my shivering 
wife and blue-chilled child, on a bitter cold night. I took 
hold of the little one with a grip and saw her chilled feet. 
Men, fathers ! if the little shoes smote me what must the 
little feet do? I put them, cold as ice, to my breast; they 
pierced me through. Yes, the little feet walked right into 
my heart, and away walked my selfishness. I had a trifle 
of my money left ; I bought a loaf of bread and then a pair 
of little shoes ; and from that day I have spent no more 
money at the public house. That's all I've got to say — It 
was the little shoes that did it." 

The South Bend Sun tells of a prominent professional 
gentleman, who one morning stepped into a saloon to get 
his customary drink. After passing the ordinary salutation 
with three or four loafers who were han^ina- about the 



140 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

place, he went up to the bar and called for whiskey, which 
was handed to him As he filled the glass and was raising it 
to his lips, a miserable, wretched, drunken tramp stepped 
up beside him and said : 

"Say, Squire, can't von give me a drink out of that 
bottle?" 

Xot wishing to be annoyed by associates of that class, the 
gentleman roughly told him to go away and mind his own 
business. The tramp angrily replied that he need not be 
so cranky about the matter* for before he got to drinking 
he was just as respectable as he was, and wore as fine 
clothes as he did, "And what is more," he said, "I always 
knew how to act the gentleman." 

The gentleman stood for a few moments eyeing the man 
from head to foot, noting with deep disgust his blood-shot 
eyes, his bloated face, his long unkempt hair, his filthy, 
ragged garments, and his mismated boots, after which he 
said, 

" Then it was drinking that made you an outcast from 
society and the miserable man you are?" 

"Yes," said the tramp. 

" Then it is time for me to quit;" said the gentleman, and 
pouring the glass of whiskey on the floor, he Uirned and left 
the saloon, never to enter it again. 

The following account was related by Samuel Bettle, Sr.,* 
in a very remarkable communication, on First-day, the 16th 
of Eleventh month, 1823, in a meeting in Merion: 

He was acquainted with a man of strong and fine natural 
abilities, of excellent character, and good fortune or pro- 
perty ; but this man had one darling sin, one failing which, 
given way to, sullied all his virtues, and this was, inebriety. 
Though he strove in his own will against it, yet it still 
gained and kept dominion over him, until it destroyed his 
constitution, and ruined him in character and substance. 
Thus, a poor, wretched, miserable being, he found himself 

* For many years a minister and a prominent member of the Society 
of Friends in Philadelphia. Remarkable for his wisdom and foresight. 
Died in 1861, in the eighty-seventh year of his age. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 141 

progressing rapidly to destruction ; and all his strong re- 
solves and re-resolves availed him nothing. One day he 
was coming down stairs to take his usual potation, yet sensi- 
ble of the consequence of so doing; but, of a sudden, he 
prayed for help to resist the temptation. He uttered no 
words; he sighed from the bottom of his soul that God 
would help a poor lost creature; and his prayer was heard. 
On reaching his room, instead of taking his bottle, he took 
his seat and remained in silence about half an hour. The 
Divine and healing Power broke in upon his mind ; he 
wept and prayed, and was preserved. The next day the 
temptation was renewed, but having been favored once to 
get the victory, he was enabled to persevere to the end. I 
saw," said S. B., "the death-bed of the man, just before he 
was called to his account. Oh, how humble, how changed, 
and how happy! With triumphant hope he joined the 
assembly of the saints of God." 

It is recorded of Edward Wright,* of wdiose conversion 
some account was given in a former page, that, before he 
came under the government of the Spirit of Christ, he was 
greatly addicted to the use of strong drink. 

He was standing on the steamboat pier at the river 
Thames, when he heard the cry, "A boy ovei'board!" 
Hastening to the spot, and looking carefully into the water, 
he observed bubbles, " and in a moment the thought oc- 
curred to him that these bubbles were probably caused by 
the last breathings of the drowning lad. Instantly, with the 
quickness of an apparition, he plunged into the river, dived 
beneath the surface, and while the crowd on the shore and 
pier were awaiting in breathless suspense his re-appearance, 
he dived to the bottom, and there lay the body, as if dead. 
Passing one arm under the lad, and with the other raising 
himself and his burden to the surface, Ned was seen with 
his prize above the water, and was greeted with a simulta- 
neous shout from the spectators. A boat was meanwhile 
sent to his assistance, the boy put in it and conveyed to a 
public-house, and Ned, amid such plaudits as nearly be- 
wildered him, swam safely to the pier. 

*See note, p. 87. 



142 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

"As he was going away, the captain of one of the steamboats 
cried out, ' Hold on ! we are going to make a collection for 
you.' 'All right, was Ned's response ; ' while you are do- 
ing so, I'll just run up and see how the lad is getting on.' 
The boy had been so long under water that he appeared as 
one dead ; and although stimulants were freely given, and 
every appliance obtained for restoring animation, it was 
feared for some time that the case was hopeless. The 
means were at last successful, and the frantic mother, 
whose wild shrieks of sorrow had been heard from outside, 
pushed her way into the room, clasped her child fondly to 
her bosom, and having relieved herself by a flood of tears, 
inquired, ' Where is the man who saved my child ?' The 
brave rescuer was pointed out, and falling at his feet she 
thanked him repeatedly, asking what she could do to re- 
ward him for his bravery. Ned laid his hand on her head 
and said, 'All right, mother; I've a little one of my own,' 

" Returning to the pier, he found that the collection had 
been made by the captains of the two steamers, and the 
man in charge of the pier, and his jacket pockets were filled 
with coppers, and his trousers pockets with small silver. 
Of course, he could not resist the temptation to drink too 
much rum, and the consequence was that he spent all he 
had that night in the public-house, going home drunk and 
penniless ! He could expose his life to danger, to rescue a 
drowning child ; but he could not be brave enough to resist 
the temptations of drink. He could sympathize with a mo- 
ther's sorrow and a child's suffering; but in the midst of 
these allurements to drink he could forget his young and 
hungry wife, and neglect the wants of his infant child." 

This incident occurred during the time of his spiritual 
darkness, when he was a willing servant of the Evil one; 
but when he came under the government of the Spirit of 
Christ, he was enabled to turn from the temptation to in- 
dulge in strong drink, and to "live soberly," as well as 
" righteously." 

Those who have submitted to the visitation of Divine 
Grace, and through its transforming power have come to be 
of the Lord's children, are earlv made to feel the force of the 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 143 

Scripture language, "Ye are not your own," and the conse- 
quent necessity of glorifying God with their bodies and 
their spirits. They soon learn that it is their duty to obey 
the injunction, "Be not conformed to this world, but be 
ye transformed by the renewing of your mind ; " and that 
the Cross must be taken up in many things which the 
world considers allowable. Among the things in which 
the Christian is often led in a different path from that 
which he had before trodden, is the observance of plain- 
ness and simplicity in dress and behavior. A testimony on 
these subjects is not peculiar to any one religious Society, 
but belongs to the Church at large — being founded on the 
commands of our Saviour and his Apostles, and of the 
Holy Prophets ; and also on the openings of the Spirit of 
Christ in the hearts of his obedient followers. Many indeed 
are the instances of those who have been brought under a 
living concern for their own salvation and been made will- 
ing to bend their necks to the yoke of Christ, who have felt 
the force of the command, "put away thine ornaments 
from thee ; " and who have seen that they could no longer 
comply with many customs which others thought harmless. 
This has been the case in all true revivals of religion. 
The early members of the Society of Friends were led into 
great simplicity in their manner of life, and watchfulness 
over their words and actions. Their liberty stood in the 
liberty which the Spirit of Christ gave them. 

When Daniel Wheeler* had submitted to those Divine 
visitations which were the means of redeeming him from 

* A noted minister in the Society of Friends in England. He spent 
more than four years in a religious visit among the islands oS the 
Pacific Ocean, returning in 1838. He twice visited America in the ser- 
vice of the Gospel; and, during the second of these visits, died at New 
York city, in 1840, aged sixty-eight years. See Life in Friends' Library, 
vol. 7, p. 1, etc. 



144 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

sin and transgression, he found, as his children state in his 
Memoirs, that the only path in which he could walk with 
safety, was that of self-denial. "Much mental conflict was 
at this time his portion ; but peace was only to be obtained 
by an entire surrender of the will ; and in conformity with 
what he believed required of him, he adopted the plain 
dress. He once recounted to a friend in lively terms, the 
trial it was to him to put on a different hat to that which he 
had been accustomed to wear ; especially as in going to the 
meeting at Woodhouse, he generally met a number of his 
former gay acquaintances, whom he crossed on the way to 
their place of worship, which he had himself previously been 
in the practice of attending. In this instance it was hard 
to appear openly as a fool before men ; he thought if his 
natural life might have been accepted as a substitute he 
would gladly have laid it clown ; but this was not the thing 
required. He diligently examined his heart, and believed 
he saw clearly his Master's will in the requisition ; and that 
it was a discipline designed to bring him into a state of 
childlike obedience and dependence. In great distress he 
cried unto the Lord for help; and a passage of Scripture 
was powerfully applied to his mind, "Whosoever shall con- 
fess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father 
which is in heaven.' His resolution was immediately taken; 
he put on the hat, and with his mind staid on the Lord, set 
out to join his friends at meeting." 

John Richardson* who was also an instrument in the 
Lord's hand to proclaim the way of life and salvation, and 
Avho travelled for that purpose both in England and Amer- 
ica, relates that there was in his "wild nature," an aversion 
to the strict living and demeanor, plainness of habit and 
language of the " people called in scorn Quakers ; " and 
that he learned none of these things from them, for he says, 
" When the Lord changed my heart, he also changed my 
thoughts, word and ways, and there became an aversion in 
me to vice, sin and vanity." " Now I came to be clearly 
convinced about hat-honor, bowing the knee, and the cor- 
rupt language, as well as finery in habit; all which for con- 



INCH) E X T S A X T) 11 B F LEG I IONS. 145 

science-sake, and the peace thereof, I came to deny, and 
take up the cross to, and had great peace in so doing." 

The experience of Job Scott* is very instructive. When 
he submitted his heart to the holy work of Divine Grace, 
he was early convinced that " religion was an internal life 
in the soul," and "that men generally rely too much on ex- 
ternal performances and appearances." Thus his under- 
standing was opened to see " that a plain, decent, and not 
costly dress and way of living, in all things, was most agree- 
able to true Christian gravity and self denial." 

"Thus instructed," he adds, " I bowed in reverence ; and 
as it became from time to time necessary to procure new 
clothing, I endeavored to conform my outward appearance 
in this respect to the dictates of Truth, in which I found 
true peace and satisfaction. Also, He instructed me to use 
the plain Scripture language, Thou to one, and You to 
more than one. The cross greatly offended me in regard to 
these things. This form of language in particular, looked 
so trifling and foolish to the wordly-wise part in me, and 
the fear of the ' world's dread laugh ' so powerfully opposed 
it, that I gave way to carnal reasoning. ' What good can 
this exactness of language do. May I not as well serve 
God in a less singular and less contemptible way ? ' Such 
reasonings as these, and many more, presented in opposi- 
tion to the holy injunction. But the Lord showed me, that 
if I would be wise, I must first become a fool ; if I would be 
his disciple, I must first deny myself, take up my cross daily, 
in whatever He required of me, and follow Him in the way 
of his leading. 

" It was very hard and trying to my natural will to give 
up to this duty. This exercise beset me day and night for 
some time, during which I had many sorrowful and bitter 
tears, pleaded many excuses, and greatly wished some sub- 
stitute might be accepted instead of the thing called for. 
But he who called me into the performance of these foolish 
things (to the world's wisdom), was graciously pleased to 
show me with indubitable clearness, that He w T ould choose 
his sacrifice himself; and that neither a right hand nor a 

* See note, p. 14. 
13 



146 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

right eye, neither thousands of rams, nor ten thousands 
of rivers of oil, would by any means answer instead of his 
requirings. If he called for so weak or foolish a thing as 
the words thou and thee to a single person, instead of you, 
nothing else of my substituting would do instead of it." 
" Perhaps," says Job Scott, " few will believe the fulness of 
heavenly joy which sprang in my bosom, as a well-spring 
of living waters, after my giving up in faithfulness to this 
requisition." 

That self-denial in matters of dress is a testimony that 
should be borne by the whole Church, and ought not to be 
confined to any one branch is shown by the following case, 
described in the Journal of Eighth Month 27th, 1884, by 
Mary G. Smith, of Hoopestown, Illinois. 

An intimate friend of mine, a member of the Methodist 
society, who has been one from her earliest years, related to 
me the power of gi*ace upon her, as regards dress. She had 
ample means before and after marriage to indulge in the gay 
and ornamental robing of the body. She said that when 
growing up and for years, her rich jewelry did not interfere 
with her religion. But at last, an impression was felt that 
she must live closer to God, and seek to know more clearly 
his will for her; and in the quiet of her own home, she 
received a baptism that opened the seal of the inner sanctu- 
ary and disclosed many inconsistencies, hindering the pure 
worship of God. When she next went to prepare herself 
to go to meeting, not thinking about what she should put on, 
she took up her jewelry, which she had been in the habit 
of wearing, when a voice told her, " God does not need 
these." She was startled by the thought, and again she put 
forth her hand to place the ornaments on her person, when 
lo ! the same clear voice said : " Thou dost not need these 
to worship me." Then there arose a contest in her mind as 
to what her friends would think of her strange appearance, 
when once more she heard: "Art thou not mine? be obedi- 
ent and thy soul shall live." She left her ornaments in the 
box, and went foi'th a monument to the effect of a dedi- 
cated heart and to the voice of God in the soul. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 147 

But the next time she went out, the contest arose between 
the desire of her natural will to conform to her usual attire, 
and the spiritual light which convinced her that ornaments 
were injurious to the salvation of her soul. She said : 

" I never afterward wanted to put them on," and she felt 
compelled to remove the ruffles and trimmings from her 
clothes. 

A person who had been brought under religious convic- 
tion found, as many others have done, that her fondness fin- 
dress was one of the things which had to be bfought under 
the crucifying power of the Spirit of Christ. At the time 
of her awakening she had just finished a dress — but it was 
never worn. She joined in religious fellowship, I believe, 
with the Methodists. She says : — 

"When I went home [from the meeting at which she had 
become a member] the Lord let me see that I had more 
trimmings on my hat than was for his glory, and I took the 
flowers off; but at meeting that night the light kept shining, 
and I pulled the feather off in meeting, and I have never 
had any on since. The Lord let me see I could not wear 
these things and be a true Christian. And I cannot see how 
any one that has a Bible experience, and is willing to walk 
in the Light and obey God, can conform so much to the 
world in their dress." 

A few years since, a Friend, who was paying a religious 
visit in some parts of the Southern States, had an appointed 
meeting among the colored people at Raleigh, N. C. In the 
audience he observed a nicedooking, plainly dressed young 
woman, in whose appearance he was much interested. In a 
subsequent conversation he found that she was a member 
with the Methodists, who had felt it to be her duty to preach 
among her people. In relating her experience, she said that 
at one time she was fond of wearing ornaments like other 
young women ; but as she came under the pow T er of Divine 
Grace, one after another of these had been dropped from a 
sense of duty. She further stated that there were several 



14cS INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

other women in her religions society, who had been led into 
the ministry, and all of them had been led into the same 
self-denial and plainness as to dress, that she had seen to be 
the allotted path for her to walk in. 

Though the strong testimony on the subject of jolainness 
in attire borne by prophets and apostles of old seems to be 
much lost sight of by many who profess to be Christians — 
yet persons who are brought under deep religious conviction 
arc very often led into a Christian simplicity — and a follow- 
ing of the fashions of the day is felt to be inconsistent with 
the self-denying life of a follower of Christ. 

Mary Bosanquet,* who afterwards married John Fletcher, 
-ays, in her life: "I saw clearly that plainness of dress and 
behavior best became a Christian. 1 will therefore, make 
it my rule to be clean and neat, but in the plainest things, 
according to my station ; and whenever I thought on the 
subject, these words would pass through my mind with 
power: ' For so the holy women of old adorned themselves.' " 

Jacob Green, an Irish Friend, who, about 1840, paid a 
very acceptable visit to America, as a minister, related on 
one occasion, that when he was a young man, before he had 
joined the religious Society of Friends, he entered a grave- 
yard, where he beheld the skeleton of a human being. This 
made so deep an impression on his mind that he never after 
felt the least inclination to adorn his person. 

When Thomas Storyt was in America, he had a meeting 
in the year 1699, at Mispillion, in Delaware. Here he met 
with a man named Joseph Booth, who asked him many 
questions on religious subjects, all of which were answered 
to his satisfaction ; and, after the meeting, he expressed his 
full convincement in what he had heard. 

" But," says T. Story, " I found he stuck at the cross ; he 

* A friend of John Wesley, and a very pious and exemplary woman. 
See Life, by Henry Moore. 
fSee note, p. 111. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 140 

could not submit to the plain language of thou and thee to 
a single person, nor become unmodish in keeping on the 
hat, and declining the customary ways of address, nor break 

off that heathenish custom of calling the days and months 
by the names of their imaginary gods; which he thought 
too low for matters of religion; concerning all which we 
discovered next morning, as he set us on our way ; and in 
some of these points he was better satisfied before we parted. 
Yet the cross was hard for him to bear in these small tilings ; 
and why? Because submitting to the practice of them im- 
mediately subjects a man to all the scoffing and contempt 
with which we are treated by the world at this day ; no-way 
agreeable to the natural and carnal mind. And that which 
rendered things harder to him was, the station and character 
he supported in the world ; for he was a justice of the peace, 
and the most sober and knowing person in these parts." 

At those favored seasons in the history of the Church, 
when the Lord has been pleased, in a remarkable manner, 
to pour forth his Spirit on the hearts of the people, and to 
cause them to turn with sincerity and earnestness to Him, 
the revival of true religion has been accompanied with a 
corresponding simplicity in life and dress, in accordance 
with the precepts of Holy Scripture. It was so with the 
early members of the Society of Friends. Without any 
formal regulations on the subject, they soon came to feel 
that it was beneath the dignity of one whose affections were 
set on Heavenly things, to follow the varying fashions of 
the day ; and the plainness and simplicity they manifested 
in their apparel as well as conduct, were the legitimate 
fruits of their devotion to the cause of Christ. 

The early Methodists were also a plain, self-denying 
people, and this was manifested in their personal appear- 
ance, as well as in other things. As their congregations 
have increased in wealth they have come more under the 
influence of pride and fashion ; and their places of worship 
13* 



150 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

are now very often expensive and ornate structures, es- 
pecially in the lame cities. This is greatly to be regretted, 
as it must lessen the influence for good of that people. The 
change that has taken place has affected their dress, as well 
as their meeting-houses. A few years since, as a Friend 
who was from home on a religious visit, was standing at a 
ferry in company with his companion, lie was accosted by a 
stranger who remarked that he supposed they were ministers 
'of the Gospel, and that he also was one, though they would 
not suppose it from his appearance. He was a Methodist 
preacher, and he further said, that in former times a person 
would he known to be a member of their Society by his ap- 
pearance, but now they had become ashamed to bear this 
open testimony to religion in the face of the world. 

Alas, of how many of the members of the Society of Friends 
must it be acknowledged, thai they too have "become 
ashamed" of the unmodish dress of a consistent Quaker! 

The writer was greatly interested some mouths aijo in 
meeting with an aged woman of another religious profes- 
sion, who was evidently green in old age. She informed us 
that she had become deaf, and could hear nothing save the 
still small voice in the inmost recesses of her soul. She 
dressed much in the manner of a plain Friend of the last 
generation ; and some allusion being made to it in our in- 
tercourse (by means of a slate and pencil), she said she had 
been asked whether she was a Quaker, and when she re- 
plied in the negative, the question was put, Why did she 
dress so plainly? To this she answered, that when she 
yielded to the power of Divine Grace and became a Chris- 
tian, she took up the cross in all things, dress as well as 
others. 

The influence which may be exerted on others by plain- 
ness of dress, when it is connected with uprightness and 



[NCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 1">1 

consistency in other respects, is illustrated by an account 
furnished by Samuel Chadbourne of Orleans County, N. Y., 
respecting Michael Robson, who resided at Hartland, Niag- 
ara County of that State, S, C. says : — 

"I being a stranger, an immigrant, seeking a place 
of settlement in this country, had been recommended 
to call on this Friend; and after an evening of social 
converse, which seemed to cement our hearts in the union 
and fellowship of Christ, I had retired. He came very 
early to my room, saying he could not sleep, believ- 
ing it required of him to inform me how he was con- 
vinced and became a Friend. He then said: He was a 
wicked sailor boy, and had persuaded himself that religion 
had been established to keep people in subjection to the 
powers that be; and was very strongly inclined to infidelity. 
The vessel had put in the port of Scarboro, England, and 
as he was sauntering about the streets, sonic plain-dressed 
Friends appeared, going to meeting. Their plainness and 
demeanor struck him so forcibly, that it occurred to him, 
what if religion should be true, — I would like to know more 
about this peojde. He followed them; then ventured to 
look in the meeting; some one beckoned him to a seat. 
The appearance, solemnity and silence, deeply affected him. 
When the meeting ended, he felt a desire to be good, and 
concluded he would try to know more ; but the enem} r sug- 
gested, it may be only form — he would like to know whether 
they were really what they appeared to be. In order to 
try them, he soon found some of their shops (or stores), 
bought some trifles, laid down more money than the real 
cost, to see if they would take it; but no — the money 
was returned, — now he was more convinced he would like 
to be good, and be a Friend; but how could he amongst 
the sailors? What to do he did not know. The vessel was 
ready for sea, but the wind was contrary ; he again at- 
tended meeting, and so it happened the wind still contrary, 
which continued for three w r eeks ; at the end of which time 
he concluded to go to sea no more, but remained on shore, 
learned gardening, and became acquainted with nursery 



152 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

business. After a suitable time he was admitted to mem- 
bership, finally emigrated to this country and settled as 
above, and was a steadfast pillar in the "Society, and de- 
ceased in the year 1853, at the advanced age of ninety-three. 

David Ferris* was brought up in Connecticut, and in 
early manhood was led by the Spirit of Christ into a self- 
denying course of life, and ultimately joined in member- 
ship with the Society of Friends. At the time to which 
the following extract from his memoranda refers, he had 
had but little intercourse with that people. He says: — 

"After I had been some time at home, new objections arose 
in my mind against a compliance with the customs of those 
among whom I resided; such as bowing and scraping; put- 
ting off the hat; saving, 'your servant, sir, madam,'' etc., 
and against using the ungrammatieal, corrupt language of 
'you' to a single person. Although, in past years, I°had 
Known various exercises, and though I had learned many 
hard lessons, yet I found much in "me that required morti- 
fication, and that I had yet many things to learn. To re- 
fuse the use of the plural language to a single person, 
although it seemed a small matter, yet I found it hard to 
submit to. I was convinced that 'the common mode of 
speaking in the plural number to a single person, was a 
violation of the rules of grammar and unscriptural. I also 
believed the pride of man had introduced the custom; yet 
I thought it was not necessary to make myself ridiculous to 
all about me for a matter of so small importance. So long, 
therefore, as no necessity was laid upon me to take up the 
cross in that respect, I continued to use the language of my 
education. Yet I used compliments sparingly, because the 
disuse of them was not so observable. However, it was not long 
before I found it my duty to say 'thee' and 'thou' to every 
individual. Nevertheless, I found an inclination or temptation 
so to turn the conversation as to shun this mode of speech; 
yet this did not afford peace. Small as the matter appeared, 
I could not be easy without being entirely faithful in every 

* Sec note, p. 49. 



[NOIDENTS AND HEFLKCTION8. !•">•"> 

respect; and my duty in this particular being clearly mani- 
fested, I renHoned no longer with fleBh and blood, bul sub- 
mitted to the requiring. And thus I obtained peace. 

"About this time, several scholars coming from the 
college, invited me to accompany them on a visit to the 
minister in our settlement; and accordingly I irenl with 
them. We walked with our hats under our arms, and so 
entered the house, .lust, as we were aboul to depart i was 
required to bear a testimony against the hat-honor. So I 
rose, put on my hat, went to the priest, and bade him fare- 
well, without putting my hand <<» it, or bowing my body. 
This being the first time I had refused these compliment , 
it, was a close trial; and it appeared remarkable that il 
should be required of me at such a time, and in such com- 
pany ; but neither the priest nor my companions took notice 
of it, so as to make any remark. My obedience afforded 
me great peace; and, by yielding to these inward mctiorJs 
of the Sure Guide, in small things, I gained sti 
was more and nunc confirmed that i was right in making 
such a change. 

Samuel Neale* relates the following instance of the out- 
ward respect, as well as the inward peace, which accom- 
panied his acting consistently with Ins profession: 

" When I was with my old master, T. 8., as an appren- 
tice, he had occasion to pay rent i<» the Bishop <>l' Clogher 
for one of his correspondents. I was sent with the money, 
and addressed the Bishop, not as though I was one called a 
Quaker, lie look but little notice of me; I thought ho 
treated me rather with contempt. It, stung me to thinls 
I had played the coward, and was ashamed to address him 
as a Quaker; I therefore entered into an engagement that 
if ever I wcid, again, I would address him in the plain Ian 
guage. The season came that I was to go, and I was 
warned in my mind to remember my engagement. I went 
in some degree of fear; he was just, stepping into hie coach 
to go into the country : when I addressed him as a Quaker, 
lie very politely received me, and treated me as if I had 



154 1 N C I D I X T S A X D R E F L E C T I X S . 

been his equal. When I had done my business, I returned 
with a pleasure far transcending anything I had felt before, 
for such an act of obedience. I thought I could leap as an 
hart, I felt such inward joy, satisfaction and comfort, So 
that I would have the beloved youth mind their Guide, and 
not dishonor that of God in them ; for as we are faithful 
in a little, we shall be made rulers over more ; and we shall 
have more of the praise even of men, by keeping to our 
religious principles, and be in higher esteem by those in 
authority, as our forefathers were." 

There are many ways in which a worldly-minded spirit 
manifests itself. There is one form of this which often 
attracts the unwary ; and that is the indulgence in those 
kinds of amusements which are calculated to wean the affec- 
tions from our great Creator, and which expose the indi- 
vidual to many temptations to evil. 

The Testimony of the Monthly Meeting of Philadelphia 
respecting Daniel Stanton,* a valuable minister, who de- 
ceased in 177<>, state- : — " He was of late deeply exercised 
in consideration of the evils of the horse-races, stage-plavs, 
drunkenness, and other gross enormities, encouraged and 
increasing in this city ; closely exhorting our youth against 
those pernicious and destructive devices of the enemy of 
mankind; and, under the awful sense that God will judge 
and punish the wicked and evil doers, he was often fervent 
in public supplications, that the Lord would lengthen out 
the day of his merciful visitation." 

I met .some time ago in one of the public papers with a 
sad illustration of the folly of wasting life in a round of 
such amusements. I have no means of testing the accuracy 
of the narrative, but there is nothing improbable in its 
statements. 

A wealthy young woman in the South, who had been a 
thoughtful girl, anxious to help all suffering and want, and 

*See note, p. 34, 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 155 

to serve her God faithfully, married a resident of New 
York, and entered into the whirl of fashionable life. She 

and her husband soon seemed to have no object before them 
but enjoyment; and an almost constant round of excite- 
ments occupied their time. Some years ago she was return- 
ing alone from California, when an accident occurred to 
the railroad train in which she was a passenger, and she 
received a fatal internal injury. She was carried into a 
wayside inn and there, attended only by a physician from 
a neighboring village, she died. 

The doctor said it was one of the most painful experi- 
ences of his life. "I had to tell her that she had but an 
hour to live. She was not suffering any pain. Her only 
consciousness of hurt was that she was unable to move, so 
that it was no wonder she could not believe me. 

" 'I must go home,' she said, imperatively, 'to New York.' 

"Madame, it is impossible. If you are moved, it will 
shorten the time you have to live." 

"She was lying on the floor. The brakemen had rolled 
their coats to make her a pillow. She looked about her at 
the little dingy station, with the stove stained with tobacco 
in the midst. 

" ' I have but an hour, you tell me ?' 

" Not more." 

" 'And this is all that is left me of the world. It is not 
much, doctor,' with a half smile. 

" The men left the room, and I locked the door, that she 
might not be disturbed. She threw her arms over her face 
and lay quite a long time, then she turned on me in a 
frenzy. 'To think of all that I might have done with my 
money and my time ? God wanted me to help the poor 
and the sick ! It's too late now ! I've only an hour !' 
She had not even that, for the exertion proved fatal." The 
doctor added, " No sermon that I ever heard was like that 
woman's despairing cry, ' It's too late !' " 

But life may be wasted, not merely in trifling or sensual 
amusement, but in any course of conduct w T hich conflicts wuth 
our Saviour's command, " Seek first the kingdom of Heaven 



1 56 I N C I D E N I S A N D R E F L E C 1 1 N S . 

and the righteousness thereof." Who can but pity Cardinal 
Mazarin,* the great minister of Louis XIV. It is recorded 
of him, that when he was near the end of life, a courtier, 
loitering without leave in the apartments of the sick states- 
man, heard a slippered foot dragging itself with difficulty 
along the carpet of an adjoining room, and hastily hid him- 
self behind some tapestry. He saw Mazarin creep feebly 
in, and gaze around, little suspecting that he was himself 
being watched. From all sides shone on him the art trea- 
sures he had collected — the only objects except wealth and 
power, he cared for. He looked on them long and regret- 
fully ; his eye wandered from picture to picture, from statue 
to statue, till at last his anguish vented itself in words. " I 
must leave all that. What pains it cost me to acquire these 
things! I shall never see them where I am going!" The 
courtier, Count Louis de Brienne, whose ears caught that 
dying groan, remembered the speech, and when Mazarin 
was dead, put it in print, unconsciously as a warning to all 
those who lay up treasures for themselves, but are not rich 
toward God. 

That the Light of Christ leads those who obey it out of 
worldly amusements, is shown by the experience of Thomas 
Chalkley.f In his Journal he says : 

" I remember that, unknown to my parent.-, I had bought 
a pack of cards, with intent to make use of them when I 
went to see my relations in the country. At the time 
called Christmas I went to see them, and on my way went 
to a meeting at which a minister of Christ declared against 
the evil of gaming, and particularly at cards ; and that the 

* An Italian by birth, but a noted French statesman during the mi- 
nority of Louis XIV. Died in 1661. 

t.Born in London in 1675. Travelled extensively as a minister of the 
Society of Friends. Removed to Pennsylvania. Died in West Indies 
at Tortola while on a religious visit. See Journal in Friends' Library, 
vol. 6, p. 1, etc. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 157 

time which people pretend to keep holy for Christ's sake, 
many of them spend mostly in wickedness, sports and 
games. From this meeting at Wanstead I went to the 
house of my relations, where the parson of the next parish 
lodged that night, who used to play cards with them some- 
times, and the time drawing near that we were to go to our 
games my uncle called to the doctor, as he called him, to 
me, and to my cousin, to come and take a game at cards ; 
at which motion I had strong convictions upon me not to 
do it, as being evil. And I secretly cried to the Lord to 
kesp me faithful to Him ; and lifting up my eyes, I saw a 
Bible lying in the window, at the sight of which I was glad. 
I took it, aud sat down and read to myself, greatly rejoicing 
that I was preserved out of the snare. Then my uncle 
called again, and said, ' Come, doctor, you and I, and my 
wife and daughter, will have a game at cards, for I see my 
cousin is better disposed.' Then he looked upon me, and 
said, 'he was better disposed also.' So their sport for that 
time was spoiled, and mine in that practice forever ; for I 
never, as I remember, played with them more, but as soon as I 
came home offered my new and untouched pack of cards to 
the fire. And of this I am certain, the use of them is of 
evil consequence, and draws away the mind from heaven 
and heavenly things ; for which reason all Christians ought 
to shun them as engines of Satan ; and music and dancing 
having generally the same tendency, ought, therefore, to be 
refrained from." 

In reply to a question whether " Card-playing is danger- 
ous to good morals ?" the editor of the Sunday-School Time* 
points out the evil effect of the prominence which card- 
playing gives to chance or " luck " as an element of success 
or failure. He thinks there is hardly any " dividing line 
of equal moment in its practical bearings upon the affairs of 
one's personal life, with that which separates the two ques- 
tions : Am I to succeed in life by the blessing of God on 
my endeavors? or am I to succeed in life by my luck?" 

As to the practical effect of card-playing, the writer says: 
14 



158 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

" That he was accustomed to play cards in his early life : 
but that from his observation of its injurious effects on 
the players — among ' the best people ' — he abandoned it, 
while he was not a professed Christian, or even a nominal 
church-member ; and that all his observations in varied 
spheres of life, since that time, have confirmed his convic- 
tion that the influence and tendency of card-playing is 
injurious in any and in every home, under the most favorable 
conditions whatsoever. He could point to instances of per- 
sons ruined in life from among ' the best people,' by a 
course that clearly grew out of the influence of early card- 
playing on the mind and character. He has never seen a 
home where card-playing was sanctioned, which he did not 
believe either to be itself harmed, or to be a means of harm 
to other homes, by this sanction. His counsel is, unquali- 
fiedly and emphatically, to all parents, to keep card-playing 
out of their homes, to keep their children from card-play- 
ing : and to all pastors to do their best to keep card-playing 
out of the households in which they are interested, or which 
they can influence for good." 

An anecdote is told of a young woman, who on her way 
home from a religious meeting remarked to a companion, 
that she could not give up the world. A person who heard 
the remark, told her that if that was the case, she need not 
attend meetings any more. She might as well attend 
places of amusement, and be as happy as she could in this 
world, for it would be the only heaven she would ever have. 
God had marked out the path of self-denial which all must 
walk in, who would reach the abodes of blessedness and 
peace ; and if she would not walk in that path, but decided 
to keep the world, she had better enjoy it while she could ; 
for it was a pity to lose both worlds by being undecided. 
This view of the matter so impressed her mind, that under 
the convicting power of Divine grace, she was enabled to 
forsake her worldly amusements, and give up her heart to 
the Lord without reserve. 

When Dr. Samuel Johnson* visited his friend David 

*See note, p. 129. 



INCIDENTS ANT) REFLECTIONS. 159 

Garrick, at Hampton Court, the latter showed him his fine 
house, gardens, statue*, pictures, &c. " Ah ! David, David," 
said the Doctor, " these are the things which make a death- 
bed terrible." Not that the possession of the comforts and 
conveniences of life is wrong in itself, but whenever the 
affections and thoughts become absorbed by these things, 
then the commands of our Saviour are violated, and our 
treasure is laid up on earth instead of in Heaven. 

The feelings of Dr. Johnson on this occasion were proba- 
bly similar to those of a visitor at the house of a ministering 
Friend in Philadelphia many years ago, where there was 
much evidence of luxury and display. In the course of 
conversation she intimated that she had but little to say in 
the way of public ministry. " No marvel," thought her 
visitor, "whilst thou hast so much of the world's glitter 
about thee. Where is self-denial, simplicity and the daily 
cross ?" 



CHAPTER VI. 

Love. Benevolence. The kind .Scotchman. Widow Green's Wood. 
The Strong to Help the Weak. Genius lor Helping. Abraham Lin- 
coln and the Pig. A. Lincoln and Cogdal. Joseph Rachel's Bond. 
Lending to the Lord. The Chicago Children. Road Mending. Meas- 
uring Wood, Robert Moffat and the African Woman. Dying for a 
Friend. Peace-making. Thomas H. Benton and John Wilson. Duke 
of Wellington on War. Humility. Keep Inward. Foreign Travel. 
Giving up Religious Conviction. Watchfulness. John Richardson. 
Abigail Bowles. Resist Temptation. The Banker's Clerk. The Back- 
sliding Methodist. Submissiveness. The Child and the Cemetery. 
The Sick Son. Bounty Money. Abraham and Richard Shackleton. 
Learning to Chew Crusts. 

Another of the " fruits of the Spirit" which is one of the 
marks of true conversion, is a love for mankind and a will- 



160 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

ingness to sacrifice our own ease and means for the good of 
others. The poet Whittier has written : 

" Kindness to the wronged is never 
Without its excellent reward, 
Holy to humankind and ever 
Acceptable to God."' 

And higher authority than he has given as a test of disciple- 
ship, " By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, 
if ye love one another." In the sacred writings, " to love 
mercy" is associated with " to do justly" and " to fear God," 
as a summary statement of human duty. Even the natural 
and instinctive desire to relieve those in distress, which is so 
helpful in promoting the happiness of mankind, is a very 
amiable trait of character. But where this is purified and 
ennobled by Divine Grace, it becomes one of the virtues 
held up to view in the Holy Scriptures as incumbent on a 
Christian to practise. A reward is promised for even a cup 
of cold water given in the name of a disciple, or out of love 
and allegiance to our Father in Heaven. 

A writer in The Christian Statesman relates the following 
incident, which was observed by one of his friends, when 
travelling a few years since from San Francisco to New 
York. 

" The train had reached the junction where the two Pacific 
Koads meet. Every one was dusty and weary and glad to 
leave the car for a breath of air and a draught of fresh water, 
as well as for a relief from the cramped up quarters they had 
occupied so long. All sorts of people came out to exchange 
friendly greetings and sentiments and conjectures on the 
weather, the probable length of the journey and similar 
topics which occupy the thoughts of travellers on the same 
roads. 

" One old Scotchman, who was particularly brusque, 
crabbed and querulous, just looked out and then returned 
to his own corner. Two merry, dainty young Englishmen, 
with their charts and maps and rugs, and gay young hearts, 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 161 

had been out on the plains for a fishing and hunting excur- 
sion. They seemed quite critical, and hud a merry word 
or question for their American cousins. 

Seated a little way from the depot, on a string-piece, was 
a forlorn-looking woman, seemingly careless of her surround- 
ings. Her two children, a boy and a girl, were looking 
towards the town, as if in wonder or waiting for their mother 
to rise. By her side was a rough pine box, which looked 
familiar to the travellers who had left the train. One more 
curious than the others, perhaps more sympathetic, went 
to the group and addressed the woman. This was her 
story : 

" She and her husband had left the East years before and 
settled in Kansas, and were doing pretty well ; blessed with 
three children, the oldest a fine, brave girl, who was the 
stay, the joy and the comfort of the family! The father, 
hoping to improve his chance, heard of an opportunity fur- 
ther to the southwest, whither he removed with his belong- 
ings, but soon began to experience all the trials of an 
emigrant's life. He was unsuccessful. His daughter, only 
fourteen, did all in her power to encourage her parents and 
to supplement with her own labor, the work that her father, 
now fallen ill, could not do. The father died. The widow, 
with the three children, toiled on in hopes of better days to 
come. The daughter fell sick and died. 

Alone, dejected, friendless and far from home, the mother 
in her widowhood thought of her former home in Kansas, 
and of the friends she had left there, and resolved to return. 

The Southern Pacific Road gave her a pass for herself and 
her children, and the rough box that contained the remains 
of her daughter. She had now come as far as the junction, 
and had learned that the pass was valueless on the other 
side. She had pleaded in vain with the officers. ]No one 
had authority to pass the party on free, and there she sat 
with a few pennies in her purse, alone among strangers, with 
her dead child at her side, and two others, almost helpless, 
stranded, as it were, on a desolate island. She was too heart- 
broken even for tears. The sum asked to forward her the 
rest of the way was one hundred and seventy dollars, I think. 
The story was related to the group who had disembarked, 
14* 



162 INCH) E N T S A N D R E F L E C T IONS. 

when the two young Englishmen exclaimed, ' We'll go 
through the train.' 

" No sooner said than done. Back and forth these gay 
young men went, representing the facts. A hundred dollars 
was soon collected, and with this sum the kind fellows hur- 
ried to the officers of the road. 

" ' No ! it would not do ;' they had no authority to pass 
any one with a corpse for a less amount than they had 
named. 

" The youths were disheartened. Some one called out, 
1 Try the train again !' Again they went through it and 
collected a little more. Still the deficiency was great. 

" In their dilemma, as they stood so sorry, so sympathetic, 
a voice was heard from a distant corner : ' Let her get on, I'll 
be responsible for the rest.' 

" It was the brusque, crabbed Scotchman who spoke. 
There was a murmur of approbation, a fervent 'Thank God 
and you' — almost a cheer! went up. One young fellow ran 
to the office and then hack again to explain to the woman 
that the fare was paid and she could go on ; and the poor 
box was raised and carried to the baggage-ear. The mother 
followed with her children, the kind young fellows on either 
side, but she was too dazed to understand or express her 
thanks. ' The Lord has indeed provided for us as Molly 
said He would,' she murmured, and being seated, the young 
gentlemen saw her lean her head down and burst into tears." 

A pleasant anecdote is related of a well-to-do deacon in 
Connecticut who was one morning accosted by his pastor, 
who said, " Poor Widow Green's wood is out. Can you not 
take her a cord ? 

" Well," answered the deacon, " I have the wood, and I 
have the team ; but who is to pay me for it?" 

The pastor, somewhat vexed, replied, " I will pay you for 
it, on the condition that you read the first three verses of 
the forty-first Psalm before you go to bed to night." 

The deacon consented, delivered the wood, and at night 
opened the Bible and read the passage : " Blessed is he that 
considereth the poor ; the Lord will deliver him in time of 
trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 163 

and he shall be blessed upon the earth; and thou wilt not 
deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will 
strengthen him upon the bed of languishing ; thou wilt make 
his bed in "his sickness." 

A few days afterwards the pastor met him again. " How 
much do I owe you, deacon, for that cord of wood?" 

" Oh !" said the now enlightened man, "do not speak of 
payment: I did not know those promises were in the Bible. 
I would not take money for supplying the old widow's 
wants." 

There are some persons who are deficient in those quali- 
ties which would enable them successfully to compete with 
others in the struggles of business, it is undoubtedly the 
duty of such to do the best they can in the effort to main- 
tain themselves, and to endeavor as far as practicable to 
limit their wants by the means at their command. Yet it 
is a duty also on the part of those of more ability to feel for 
these and to be willing to aid them when uecessary. " In 
every community," says a recent writer, "there tire always 
a few, who, in common speech, ' have no faculty' to get 
along. They are deficient in judgment, in foresight, in ambi- 
tion and enterprise, and everything else which goes to make 
success in life ; and they must be helped by their more fortu- 
nate fellow-beings or drop hopelessly in the race. My dear 
sister, saving, prudent, thrifty, patterned after Solomon's 
virtuous woman, don't despise your weaker sister, but bear 
her burdens — for they are heavy, heavier than you can know 
unless with Christ-like sympathy you put yourself in her 
place. 

" And brother A, don't think it hard when you are called 
upon to help brother B, who has had a constant run of ill- 
luck, though you feel sure that in his place you would have 
avoided it all. As you have just what he lacks, thrift, 
shrewdness, brains, this is very probable. But the glory of 



164 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

Christ's religion is that the infirmities of the weak are the 
opportunities of the strong. Throw loving arms around your 
weak brothers, and lift them over life's hard places. These 
foolish, thriftless ones, on whom the battle presses so hard, 
bear God's divining rod to point out the hearts, in which 
are the holy wells of a pure and living charity." 

The Christian Observer telLs of a village carpenter, of 
whom his neighbor said that he " has done more good, I 
really believe, in this community, than any other person 
who ever lived in it. He isn't worth two thousand dollars, 
and it's very little that he can put down on subscription 
papers for auy object. But a new family never moves into 
the village that he does not find them out, to give them 
a neighborly welcome, and offer any little service he can 
render. He is always ready to watch with a sick neighbor, 
and look after his affairs for him ; and I've sometimes thought 
he and his wife kept house-plants in winter just for the sake 
of being able to send little bouquets to invalids. He finds 
time for a pleasant word for every child he meets, and you'll 
always see them climbing into his one-horse wagon when he 
has no other load. He really seems to have a genius for 
helping folks in all sorts of common ways, and it does me 
good every day just to meet him on the streets." 

In the days when Abraham Lincoln, as an Illinois lawyer, 
"rode the circuit" of the district in which he practised, an 
amusing incident occurred in connection with one of those 
journeys, which gives a pleasant glimpse into the honest 
lawyer's heart. He was riding by a deep slough, in which, 
to his exceeding pain, he saw a pig struggling, and with 
such faint efforts, that it was evident he could not extricate 
himself front the mud. Lincoln looked at the pig and the 
mud which enveloped him, and then looked at some new 
clothes with which he had but a short time before enveloped 
himself. Deciding against the claim of the pig, he rode on, but 
he could not get rid of sympathy with the poor brute; and, 
at last, after riding two miles, he turned back, determined 
to rescue the animal at the expense of his new clothes. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 165 

Arrived tit the spot, he tied his horse, and coolly went to 
work to build of old rails a passage to the bottom of the 
hole. Descending on these rails, he seized the pig and 
dragged him out, but not without serious damage to the 
clothes he wore. Washing his hands in the nearest brook, 
and wiping them on the grass, he mounted his gig and rode 
along. He then fell to examining the motive that sent him 
back to the release of the pig. At the first thought, it 
seemed to be pure benevolence; but at length he came to 
the conclusion that it was selfishness, for he certainly went 
to the pig's relief in order (as he said to the friend to whom 
he related the incident,) "to take a pain out of his own 
mind." 

Abraham Lincoln's friendly feelings towards all were 
such, that he never made much money in his business. An 
unfortunate man was a subject of his sympathy, no matter 
what his business relations to him might be. A man named 
Cogdal, who related the incident to Lincoln's biographer, 
met with a financial wreck in 1843. He employed Lincoln 
as his lawyer, and at the close of the business, gave him a 
note to cover the regular lawyer's fees. He was soon after- 
wards injured by an accidental discharge of powder, and 
lost his hand. Meeting Lincoln some time after the accident, 
on the steps of the State-house, the kind lawyer asked him 
how he was getting along. "Badly enough," replied Cogdal, 
"I am both broken up in business, and crippled. Then," 
he added, " I have been thinking about that note of yours." 
Lincoln, w T ho had probably known all about Cogdal's trou- 
bles, and had prepared himself for the meeting, took out his 
pocket-book, and saying, with a laugh, " Well, you needn't 
think any more about it," handed him the note. Cogdal 
protesting, Lincoln said, "If you had the money I would 
not take it, and hurried away. At the same date, he was 
frankly writing about his poverty to his friends, as a reason 
for not making them a visit, and probably found it no easy 
task to take care of his family, even when board at the 
Globe Tavern was only " four dollars a week." 

This incident brings to remembrance a similar circum- 
stance recorded in " Lindlev Murray's Introduction." As 



166 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

the younger generation of the present day are but little ac- 
quainted with the book, the anecdote may here be quoted. 

Joseph Rachel, a respectable negro, resided in the Island 
of Barbadoes, where he kept a retail store. As he was oblig- 
ing and honest, his business prospered. In 1756, a fire 
happened which burned down a part of the town in which 
were houses belonging to a man of his acquaintance, to 
whose family he had in early life been under some obliga- 
tions. The man was entirely ruined by the losses occasioned 
by the fire. 

Joseph had his bond for sixty pounds sterling. " Unfor- 
tunate man," said he, "this debt shall never come against 
thee. I sincerely wish thou could'st settle all thy other affairs 
as easily. But how am I sure I shall keep in this mind? 
May not the love of gain, especially when, by length of 
time, thy misfortune shall become familiar to me, return 
with too strong a current, and bear down my fellow-feeling 
before it? But for this I have a remedy. Never shalt thou 
apply for the assistance of any friend against my avarice." 

He arose, ordered a large account that the man had with 
him to be drawn out; and in a whim that might have 
called up a smile on the face of charity, filled his pipe, 
sat down again, twisted the bond, and lighted his pipe with 
it. While the account was drawing out, he continued smok- 
ing, in a state of mind that a monarch might envy. When 
it was finished, he went in search of his friend, with the dis- 
charged account, and the mutilated bond in his hand. These 
he presented to him with the assurance that he was overpaid 
in the satisfaction he felt from having done what he believed 
to be his duty. 

Many interesting anecdotes are related of the benevolence 
of " Billy Bray,"* the Cornish miner. He says : " At one 
time I had been at work the Avhole of the month, but had 
no wages to take up when pay-day came : and, as we had 
no bread in the house, ' Joey,' [his wife] advised me to go 
up and ask the ' captain,' to lend me a few shillings, which 

* A resident in Cornwall, England, noted for his zeal and originality. 
A local preacher, and a pious man. See Life. 



INCIDENTS AN J) REFLECTIONS. 167 

I did, and he let me have ten shillings. On my way home 
I called to .see a family, and found they were worse off than 
myself; for though we had no bread, we had bacon and 
potatoes, but they had neither. So I gave them five shil- 
lings, and went towards home. Then I called on another 
family, and found them, if possible, in greater distress than 
the former. I thought I could not give them less than 1 had 
given the others ; so I gave them the other five shillings, and 
went home. And Joey said — 

" ' Well, William, have you seen the captain ? ' 

" 'Yes.' 

" 'Did you ask him for any money?' 

" ' Yes ; he let me have ten shillings.' 

"'Where is it?' 

" 'I have given it away.' 

"'I never saw the fellow to you in my life. You are 
enough to try any one.' 

" 'The Lord isn't going to stay in my debt very long,' and 
I then went out. For two or three days after this, Joey was 
mighty down ; but about the middle of the week, when I 
came home from the mine, Joey was looking mighty smiling, 
so I thought there was something up. Presently Joey said — 

" ' Mrs. So-and-so has been here to-day.' 

"'Oh!' 

" 'And she gave me a sovereign.' 

" 'There, I told you the Lord wasn't going to stay in my 
debt very long ; for there's the ten shillings, and ten shillings 
interest.' " 

The incidents which from time to time are brought to 
notice of that benevolent feeling which lead persons to do 
good to others without any prospect of pecuniary reward 
to themselves, find an answering chord in the hearts of 
nearly all. 

The Chicago Herald gives the following anecdote related 
by one whom it calls a " kind-faced old gentleman," who 
had for a tenant a child not more than ten years old. 

" A few years ago I got a chance to buy a piece of land 



168 I N C 1 1) E X T S A N D R E F RECTI N 6 . 

over on the West Side, and I did so. I noticed there was an 
old coop of a house on it, but paid no attention to it. After 
awhile a man came to meet me and wanted to know if I 
would rent it to him. 

'" What do you want it for?' said I. 

" ' To live in,' he replied. 

" ' Well,' said I, ' you can have it. Pay me what you 
think it is worth to you.' 

"The first month he brought two dollars, and the second 
month a little boy who said he Avas the man's son, came 
with three dollars. After that I saw the man once in a 
while, but in a course of time the boy paid the rent regu- 
larly, sometimes two dollars and sometimes three dollars. 
One day I asked the boy what had become of his father. 

" ' He's dead, sir,' was the reply. 

" ' Is that so ? ' said I. ' How long since?' 

" ' More'n a year,' he answered. 

" I took his money, but I made up my mind that I would 
go over and investigate, and the next day I drove over 
there. The old shed looked quite decent. I knocked at the 
door and a little girl let me in. I asked for her mother. 
She said she didn't have any. 

" ' Where is she ? ' I said. 

"'We don't know, sir. She went away after my father 
died, and we've never seen her since.' 

" Just then a little girl about three years old came in, 
and I learned that these three children had been keeping 
house together for a year and a half, the boy supporting his 
two little sisters by blacking boots and selling newspapers, 
and the elder girl managing the house and taking care of 
the baby. Well, I just had my daughter call on them, and 
we keep an eye on them now. I thought I wouldn't disturb 
them while they are getting along. The next time the boy 
came with the rent I talked with him a little and then I 
said : 

"'My boy, you keep right on as you have begun, and 
you will never be sorry. Keep your little sisters together 
and never leave them. Now look at this.' 

" I showed him a ledger in which I had entered up all the 
money that he had paid me for rent, and told him it was all 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 169 

his with interest. 'You keep right on,' says I, 'and I'll be 
your banker, and when this amounts to a little more I'll see 
that you get a house somewhere of your own.' " 

The following simple incident told by a writer in the /Sun- 
day Magazine, confirms the truth of the poet's words, thai 
kindness 

"Is never 
Without its excellent reward," 

even if that reward is only the feeling of comfort which it 
gives to him who does a kind act. 

I remember once going with two young companions 
through a wildly romantic Scottish glen. Suddenlv we 
came upon a broken bit in the road ; it had been torn up 
somehow, and was full of great holes, sufficient to throw a 
horse or turn a wheel. "An ugly place in the dark," said 
one of us as we stood looking at it. " Whose busines< is it 
to mend that?" asked another. " Let us do it ourselves! " 
cried the third. And so we set to the task. There were 
plenty of stones not far off, and as we had no tools we had 
to use the more ingenuity in the selection of shape and 
size. It did not take us three-quarters of an hour to make 
the road safe, if not neat. 

" Now, w r e shall not be responsible for any accident there," 
we said, as we straightened our aching backs, " for there will 
be no accident for anybody to be responsible for ! " 

What a light lay on the hills as we lifted our glowing 
faces towards them ! We seemed no longer strangers there ; 
we had made for ourselves a share in it all. What an 
appetite we had for the milk and bannocks we got at the 
nearest cottage ! And how distinctly we can all remember 
that ramble, though many another, under as fair a sky, and 
amid scenery equally grand, has faded behind the mists of 
memory. 

Precious also is that feeling of love and respect which 
attaches to the memqry of those who have been just and 
kind in their dealings with others. This is well shown by 
15 



170 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

a notice published in the Messenger of Peace by John Hem- 
menway, of Jeremiah Chaplin,* a Baptist minister, and the 
first President of Waterville College in Maine. 

When Dr. Chaplin lived in Waterville, as President of 
the college, he bought his fire-wood, not a small quantity, 
for one year or more, of a poor man in Fairfield, about four 
miles off. Now all Maine wood-cutters and haulers know 
to their sorrow, that cutting and hauling green, heavy, hard 
wood with an ox team is very hard work for both man and 
oxeil ; and when sold, as it was in Waterville more than 
fifty years ago, for two dollars a cord or less, it was a very 
small paying business. But this was not all the trouble of 
the poor hardworking wood seller. He was often dissatisfied 
with the measure given him by the wood buyer for his loads 
of wood. 

Now as the poor man in Fairfield sent his youngest sou 
down, day after day, with a load of wood, with one pair of 
oxen, to Dr. Chaplin's door, the doctor would step out and 
measure the load. Well, the poor man's son, the friend of 
mine, said to me, when speaking of Dr. Chaplin as Presi- 
dent of Waterville College, "Dr. Chaplin was a fair man to 
measure wood. He would make the loads measure more than 
I could ! " I do not know how this act, in the life of this 
great man will strike others, but it affects me very tenderly, 
so much so that my eyes grow wet as I write. Dear, good 
man ! he well knew that he was making large measure in 
the loads of wood, and that was just what he intended to do. 
He meant to be sure not to wrong the poor man, and meant 
to give a larger measure than justice required. 

Robert Moffatt,t in his account of his missionary travels 
in South Africa, relates the following occurrence : 

In one of my early journeys, I came with my companion 
to a heathen village, on the banks of the Orange River. 
We had travelled far and were hungry, thirsty and fatigued ; 

* Born in Massachusetts in 1813. Author of Evenings of Life, etc. 

t A native of Scotland, and for many years a missionary among the 
natives of South Africa. Born 1796. Died 18J3. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 171 

but the people of the village rather roughly directed us to 
halt at a distance. We asked for water but they would not 
supply it. I offered the three or four buttons left on ray 
jacket for a little milk, and was refused. We had the pros- 
pect of another hungry night, at a distance from water, 
though within sight of the river. 

When twilight drew on, a woman approached from the 
height beyond which the village lay. She bore on her head 
a bundle of wood, and had a vessel of milk in her hand 
The latter, without opening her lips, she handed to us ; hud 
down the wood and returned to the village. A second time 
she approached with a cooking vessel on her head, and a 
leg of mutton in one hand and water in the other. She sat 
down without saying a word, prepared the fire and put on 
the meat. We asked her again and again who she was. 
She remained silent until affectionately entreated to give us 
a reason for such unlooked-for kindness to strangers. Then 
the tears stole down her sable cheeks, and she replied " I 
love Him whose servants you are; and surely it is my duty 
to give you a cup of cold water in his name. My heart is 
full ; therefore I cannot speak the joy I feel to see you in 
this out-of-the-world place." 

Further conversation showed that years before, she had 
attended a school, and had received a copy of a Dutch New 
Testament, which she dnew from her bosom. The reading 
of this in measure supplied the place of that outward com- 
munion with fellow believers, which is often so helpful to 
the Christian ; and He who has promised never to leave nor 
forsake his devoted followers, we may assuredly believe, had 
preserved her spiritual life amid her unfavorable surround- 
ings, and enabled her to prove her faith by her works. 

The sublimest proof of love is the willingness it has some- 
times wrought to sacrifice one's own life for the sake of 
another — our blessed Saviour declared that the Good Shep- 
herd laid down his life for the sheep. The Apostle Paul 
refers to this as a proof of the marvellous loving kindness 
of the Almighty, when he suggests that, " Peradventure for 



1/2 INCIDENTS AND R E F LECTIONS. 

a good man some would even dare to die ; " and adds that, 
" while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly." 

A striking instance, in which compassion overpowered 
the love of life, is the following taken from the Sunday 
Magazine: 

A few years ago a sailing ship left Australia for Eng- 
land. One of the passengers was a gentleman who had 
recently gone to Australia for his health, but the place had 
not suited him ; his bad health became worse. So he im- 
mediately took his passage back, and was now returning. 
The ship had made more than half her homeward voyage, 
when she was caught in a storm, which lasted day after day 
and night after night in greatest fury. "Winds fell upon her, 
tore her sails away, and snapped off and blew overboard 
her masts. Waves leaped upon the deck, tore coverings 
from over the stairways and ladders leading into the hold 
and cabins, and poured themselves down in tons of water, 
until the cook's fires were put out, the births and cabins 
were flooded, and all the miserable passengers were driven 
up to the deck, which, you may imagine, was a scene of 
danger and confusion. 

The ship was now sailless and mastless, and full of water, 
and rolling helplessly. All hands worked the pumps, but 
the water gained on them, and the ship sunk deeper and 
deeper into the sea, and long before the storm had abated it 
became quite clear that it must be abandoned if a single life 
was to be saved. 80 the captain gave orders to launch the 
boats which had not yet been swept overboard by the sea. 
These were only two, not half enough for the number of 
souls on board. The brave sailors obeyed as best they 
could, and while the boats were being got ready, the captain 
ordered that lots be cast as to who should go in the boats. 

The people gathered under the shelter of some of the 
ruins of the masts. It was a deeply solemn time. Only 
one-half at most could be saved, the rest in a few hours, 
perhaps moments, must be drowned in the swirl of the ship 
going down ; they all stood in the presence of death. Each 
name was written on a separate slip of paper, then the 



I £ C I D E N T S A X D R K F 1- E C T 1 K S . 1 7-5 

papers were mixed up in a box ; the captain inserted his 
hand, drew out a name, and read it aloud. It was a dread- 
ful moment to many of them as one by one they heard the 
names read, yet still theirs had not come, and now the last 
is being drawn. The captain lifts it to the flickering light 
of his lantern and reads. The very storm seems silent. 
The name is read, the suspense is over, and all know their 
fate. " Range yourselves in line," cried the captain to the 
fortunate ones, "and move one by one to the boats." And 
they filed off as ordered, while the doomed ones gathered in 
lines on either side to watch them go. 

The dark day had settled into darker night; the air was 
black. The vessel rolled terribly, and the little boats, now 
lowered to the water, leaped and plunged in the blackness 
below. A lantern swung at the point where the men were 
to leave the ship to light them down. One by one the pro- 
cession disappeared over the gunwale, hung on to the ship's 
side till the boat was thrown near, and then leaped into it. 

The young man I have named was one of the procession, 
for his name had been among the names drawn. At length 
he was the next man to go. As he waited till the man before 
him had leaped, suddenly his eyes fell upon a pale, wan face 
close to him. He remembered it, and its story flashed upon 
him. He had talked with that young man in sunny days, 
and learned from him that three years ago, with but a small 
chance of life, he had left behind him in England his wife, 
a child, and a child since born, and now full of health, he 
was on his way home again. Three years had they been 
parted, and there he stood among the doomed. He thought 
of the wife's hopes, the children's bright talk about him, and 
after all he was to be lost ! He could not bear it. In an 
instant, and without a word, he seized the man, forced him 
over the gunwale and stepped aside into the man's place. 
It was the work of a second ; there was no chance to demur. 
In a few moments more all was over. The ship had gone 
down, carrying with it a heart lost to itself, even to the value 
of life, in the thought of the miseries of others. 

Some glorious deeds move us to clap our hands and 
shout. This moves us to tears and silence. It was the act 



174 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTION?. 

of the the utmost tenderness and beauty ; and such a heart 
is like Christ's. 

One of the forms in which the love of mankind which 
flows from love to God, will manifest itself, is the desire to 
promote the reign of " peace on earth and good will to men." 
Our Saviour pronounced a special blessing on the peace- 
maker*, even that they " shall be called the children of God." 

Those who are turned in heart to the Lord, will assuredly 
be led to love their brethren also, and to desire to be recon- 
ciled to those with whom they have been at enmity. A 
pleasant, and to me, a touching illustration of this, is furnished 
by two anecdotes of Thomas H. Benton,* of Missouri, related 
in " Harvey's Reminiscences of Daniel Webster, f 

The circumstances were narrated to Harvey by Webster 
himself, and present the two distinguished personages princi- 
pally referred to, in an amiable light. 

"We had had," said Webster, " a great many political 
controversies ; we were hardly on bowing terms. For many 
years we had been members of the same body, and passed 
in and out at the same door without even boAving to each 
other, and without the slightest mutual recognition ; and we 
never had any intercourse except such as was official, and 
where it could not be avoided. There were no social rela- 
tions whatever between us. 

" At the time of the terrible gun explosion on board the 
' Princeton,' during Tyler's adminstration, T. H. Benton 
was on board ; and he related to me with tears this incident. 
He said he was standing near the gun, in the very best posi- 
tion to see the experiment. The deck of the steamer was 
crowded ; and, with the scramble for places to witness the 
discharge of the gun, his position perhaps was the most 
favorable on the deck. Suddenly he felt a hand laid upon 

*See note, p. 75. 

t A native of New Hampshire. Senator in U. S. Congress from Mas- 
sachusetts. A distinguished orator and statesman. Born 1782. Died 
]s 52. Several biographies of him have been published. 



T N C I T> E X T 5 A N 1> R E V L EC T IONS. 175 

hid shoulder, uud turned; some one wished to speak to him, 
and he was elbowed out of his place and another person 
took it, very much to his annoyance. The person who took 
his place was ex-Governor Gilmer, of Virginia, then Secretary 
of the Navy. Just at that instant the gun was tired, and 
the explosion took place. Governor Gilmer was killed 
instantly. — Upshur, then Secretary of State, was also 
killed, as was one other man of considerable prominence. 
Colonel Benton, in relating this circumstance, said: 'It 
seemed to me, — Webster, as if that touch on my shoulder 
was the hand of the Almighty stretched down there, draw- 
ing me away from what otherwise would have been instan- 
taneous death. J was merely prostrated on the deck and 
recovered in a very short time. That one circumstance has 
changed the whole current of my thoughts and life. I feel 
that I am a different man, and I want in the first place to 
be at peace with all those with whom 1 have been so sharply 
at variance. And so I have come to you. Let us bury 
the hatchet — Webster.' 'Nothing,' replied I, 'could be 
more in accordance with my own feelings.' AVe shook 
hands, and agreed to let the past be past ; and from that 
time our intercourse was pleasant and cordial. After this 
time, there was no person in the Senate of the United States 
of whom I would have asked a favor, any reasonable and 
proper thing, with more assurance of obtaining it, than of 
T. H. Benton." 

One day as Webster was seated in his library, he was 
waited upon by John Wilson, a lawyer of St. Louis, between 
whom and Benton had long existed an opposition so bitter 
and malignant as to be matter of public notoriety. Often in 
public debates they had abused each other in most virulent 
terms. Wilson was now a broken down man, prematurely 
old and wrecked in fortune ; and he had determined to 
emigrate to California, then but recently conquered from 
Mexico by Fremont, T. H. Benton's son-in-law. He had 
called on Webster to request a letter of recommendation to 
some one in California, certifying that he was a respectable 
character and worthy of confidence. The kind feelings of 
the statesman were awakened, and after thinking over the 
ease a few minutes, he suggested that a letter from Benton 



176 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

to Fremont would he of greater service than anything he 
could write. What followed shall be told in his own words, 
as related by his biographer. 

" He looked me in the face, and half astonished, half in- 
quiringly, as much as to say : ' Can it be possible that you 
are ignorant of the relations between Colonel Benton and 
myself?' 

" I said : ' I understand what you mean ; I am perfectly 
well aware of the past difficulties between you and Colonel 
Benton, and the bitter hostility that has existed. But I 
want to say to you that a great change has come over Colo- 
nel Benton since you knew him. His feelings and senti- 
ments are softened. We are all getting older. Our fiery 
hot blood is getting cooled and changed. It is hardly worth 
while for men, when they are getting up pretty near the 
maximum of human life, to indulge in these feelings of 
enmity and ill-will. It is a thing that we ought to rid our- 
selves of Colonel Benton and I have been engaged in a 
war of words, as you and he have ; and, up to two or three 
years ago, we went out of the same door for years, without 
so much as saying ' Good morning' to one another. Now, 
I do not know a man in the .Senate to whom I would go with 
more certainty of having a favor granted than to Colonel 
Benton. He feels that age is coining upon him, and he is 
reconciled to many of his bitterest opponents. 

" 'Is thy servant a dog,' replied Wilson, ' that he should 
do this thing? I would not have a letter from him, I would 
not speak to him, I would not be beholden to him for a 
favor, — not to save the life of every member of my family ! 
No sir ! The thought of it makes me shudder. I feel indig- 
nant at the mention of it. /take a letter from Benton ? I — ' 

"'Stop, stop!' said I; 'that is the old man speaking in 
you. This is not the spirit in which to indulge. I know 
how you feel.' And while he was raving and protesting 
and delaring, by all the saints in the calendar, his purpose 
to accept no favor from Colonel Benton, I turned round to 
my desk, and addressed a note to Benton, something like 
this : 

" Dear Sir : — I am well aware of the disputes, personal 
and political, which have taken place between yourself and 



I N C I D B N T S A N D R E V L B CTIUNS. 1 77 

the bearer of this note, John Wilson. But the old gentle- 
man is now poor, and is going to California, and needs a 
letter of recommendation. I know nobody in California to 
whom I could address a letter that would be of any service 
to him. You know everybody, and a letter from you would 
do him a great deal of good. I have assured J. Wilson 
that it will give you more pleasure to forget what has passed 
between you and him, and to give him a letter that will do 
him good, than it will him to receive it. I am going to 
persuade him to carry you this note, and I know you will 
be glad to see him." 

" Wilson got through protesting, and I read him the note. 
Then I said : — 

" ' I want you to carry it to Benton.' 

" ' I won't !' he replied. 

" I coaxed and scolded and reasoned, and brought every 
consideration — death, eternity, and everything else, — to bear, 
but it seemed to be of no use. Said I : — 

" ' Wilson, you will regret it.' 

" After awhile he got a little softened, and some tears 
flowed : and at last I made him promise, rather reluctantly, 
that he would deliver the note at Colonel Benton's door 
if he did not do any more. He told me afterwards that 
it was the bitterest pill that he ever swallowed. Colonel 
Benton's house was not far from mine. Wilson took the 
note, and, as he afterwards told me, went up with trembling- 
hands, put the note, with his own card, into the hand of the 
girl who came to the door, and ran away to his lodgings. 
He had been scarcely half an hour in his room, trembling 
to think what he had done, when a note came from Colonel 
Benton, saying he had received the card and note, and that 
Mrs. Benton and himself would have much pleasure in 
receiving J. Wilson at breakfast at nine o'clock the next 
morning. They would wait breakfast for him and no 
answer was expected ! ' The idea !' said he to himself, 
' that I am going to breakfast with Tom Benton ! John 
Wilson ! what will people say ; and what shall I say ? The 
thing is not to be thought of. And yet I must. I have 
delivered the note and sent my card ; if I don't go now, it 
will be rude. I wish I had not taken it. It doesn't seem 



178 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

to me as if I could go and sit there at that table.' ' I lay 
awake,' said he afterwards to me, ' that night, thinking of 
it ; and in the morning I felt as a man might feel who had 
had sentence of death passed upon him, and was called by 
the turnkey to get up for his last breakfast. I rose, how- 
ever, made my toilet, and, after hesitating a great deal, went 
to Colonel Benton's house. My hands trembled as I rang 
the bell. Instead of the servant, the colonel himself came 
to the door. He took me cordially by both hands, and said : 
" Wilson, I am delighted to see you ; this is the happiest 
meeting I have had for twenty years. Give me your hand. 
Webster has done the kindest' thing he ever did in his life." 
Leading me directly to the dining-room, he presented me to 
Mrs. Benton, and then we sat down to breakfast. After 
inquiring kindly about my family, he said : " You and I, 
Wilson, have been quarrelling on the stump for twenty-five 
years. We have been calling each other hard names, but 
really with no want of mutual respect and confidence. It 
has been a mere foolish political fight, and let's wipe it out 
of mind. Everything that I have said about you I ask 
your pardon for." We both cried a little, and I asked his 
pardon, and we were good friends. We talked over old 
matters, and spent the morning till twelve o'clock in pleas- 
ant conversation. Nothing was said of the letter, until just 
as I was about departing. He turned to his desk, and said : 
" I have prepared some letters for you to my son-in-law and 
other friends in California; and he handed out nine sheet* 
of foolscap. 

" ' It was not a letter, but a ukase ; a command to " every 
person to whom these presents shall come greeting ;" it was 
to the effect that whosoever received them must give special 
attention to the wants of his particular friend, Colonel John 
Wilson, of Saint Louis. Everything was to give way to 
that. He put them into my hands, and I thanked him, 
and left.' " 

D. Webster continued : " Colonel Benton afterwards came 
to me and said : ' Webster, that was the kindest thing you 
ever did. God bless you for sending John Wilson to me ! 
That is one troublesome thing off my mind. That was 
kind, Webster. Let us get these things off our minds as 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 179 

fast as we can; we have not much longer to stay ; we have 
got pretty near the end ; we want to go into the presence 
of our Maker with as little of enmity in our hearts as pos- 
sible.' " 

If those who promote peace are to be "called the child- 
ren of God," does it not follow, that those who promote war, 
are acting under the influence of the spirit of evil ? War 
and the religion of Christ are as opposite as light and dark- 
ness. The early Christians refused to fight, and the fact 
that so many who profess to be Christians have dropped 
this testimony, is one of the most striking examples of that 
spiritual blindness which has spread over Christendom. 
Assuredly, the same Holy Spirit which leads the converted 
man in private life to love his enemies, "and to pray for 
him who injures him," will never lead him to devise the 
destruction of multitudes, with whom he has no personal 
quarrel. 

The Earl of Shaftesbury* related the following incident, 
which shows how one of the most celebrated generals of 
modern times, looked upon warfare. 

" He once travelled to Hatfield with the Duke of Welling- 
ton,! who, as they passed through a lovely country, turned 
to him, after a long silence, and said, ' Can you guess what 
I have been thinking of?' Being answered in the negative, 
he said : ' I have been looking at this country, where every 
thing is beautiful and fills the heart with joy ; and I was 
thinking that, if I had to take military possession of it, I should 
have to lay waste that beauty and dispel that joy, and pro- 
duce instead nothing but devastation and misery.' Then 
the Duke added with a depth of feeling he should never 
forget, ' If you had seen but one day of war in the course 
of your life, you would pray before God that you might 

*The seventh earl of same name. Distinguished for his zeal for phil- 
anthropy, morals and religion. Born 1801. Died 1885. 

f Born In Ireland in 1767. Nearly all his life connected with military 
affairs. Defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. Died in 1852. 



180 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS, 

never see another.' " In giving his reasons for conceding 
Catholic Emancipation, he said (Third Month 21, 1829): 
" My Lords, I have passed more of my life in war than most 
men, and I may say in civil war, and if I could avoid by any 
sacrifice whatever — if I could avoid, even for one month, a 
civil war, in a country to which I am attached, I would 
sacrifice my life to do it." 

This testimony from a military man is strengthened by 
the record of a soldier in regard to his experience in battle. 

In the wild exhilaration of the fight he was utterly insensi- 
ble to the fact that his shots were carrying death to men. 
This was not thought of once in the mad intoxication of the 
storm of shot and shell. But when the surge of battle 
brought him to the place where the wounded enemy lay 
dying, then the awful reality came over him. " I had loaded 
and fired for hours," he said, " without compunction. But 
when I saw a dying soldier whom my shot had pierced, 
and when I beheld his life-blood ebbing out, I was utterly 
overcome, and fell at his feet and wept like a child." 

Another of " the fruits of the Spirit" is humility. The true 
Christian knows that it was through the strivings of the 
Lord's Spirit, he was awakened from a state of sin, and 
through the power derived from the same unfailing fountain, 
that he was strengthened to forsake it. He feels that he 
has nothing to boast of, but that all is of mercy. He knows 
also that without the continued care and help of the 
Almighty, he cannot withstand the various temptations 
that assail him ; and therefore he needs continually to heed 
the command of the Saviour, to " watch and pray." 

There is much food for profitable reflection in the exhor- 
tation, " Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest 
he fall." There are few or perhaps none of those who have 
attained to a good degree of religious stability, that, in re- 
viewing their life, cannot recall seasons when through un- 
watchfulness and neglect of daily seeking for communion 



I N C I D E X T S A XI) R E F L E C T IONS. 1 X 1 

with God, their spiritual affections were in measure benumbei I 
and their thoughts too much . occupied with other lovers. 
Had it not been for the continued love and mercy of (un- 
gracious Lord, who afresh extended his visitations to their 
souls, and aroused them from spiritual slumber, they would 
have become more and more negligent of their eternal 
interests. 

If the holy watch is not maintained, any of the varied 
engagements that claim a share of our time and thoughts 
may become a snare, however proper or allowable they 
may be when kept in due subjection to the cross of Christ. 

John Churchman* mentions having a meeting among 
some tender-spirited people in Massachusetts, towards whom 
the doctrine of truth flowed freely. He says, " When the 
meeting was ovei', I felt an uncommon freedom to leave 
them, for they began to show their satisfaction with the 
opportunity in many words ; so speaking to the Friend who 
went with me, we withdrew and went to our horses. On 
mounting, I beheld the man of the house where the meeting 
was held, running to me, who taking hold of the bridle, 
told me I must not go away without dining with them. I 
looked steadfastly on him and told him, that I did believe 
this was a visitation for their good, but I was fearful that 
by talking too freely and too much, they would be in dan- 
ger of losing the benefit thereof, and miss of the good the 
Lord intended for them ; and my going away was in order 
to example them to go home to their own houses, and turn 
inward and retire to the Divine Witness in their own 
hearts, which was the only way to grow in religion." 

Anna Shiptonf mentions meeting with a woman on the 
continent of Europe, who had been a Christian, but had 
become miserably entangled in the snares of the world. 
She says of her, " She had rambled from one country to an- 
other, devoted to art and enthralled by the beauty of nature, 
which she strove to justifiy as tastes given by God to be 

* See note, p. 14. 
t See note, p. 15. 

16 



182 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

cultivated. Her clays "were passed in sight-seeing, in 
churches, galleries, studios and antiquities ; her ear and 
mind were filled with masses and music ; until the natural 
vision of the natural mind came between the eye of faith 
and its heavenly vision, and destroyed the happy sense of 
adoption. 

" She sought in vain to deaden her sense of desertion and 
lost peace, by the passing interests of the hour. She 
mourned to look back ; she feared to look forward. 

" Like a poor bird under the deadly fascination of the 
snake, she seemed unable to flee from the enchantment of 
sense that spread its web covertly around her. 

" Late one night, she came to bid me farewell ; and this 
was our saddest meeting of all — it was our last. 

" ' Pray for me,' she repeated, as she hung upon my neck. 
' Pray that anyhow I may be taken out of all this. Ask 
that I may be stopped, for I am going downwards, down- 
ward !' " 

" I heard of her again ; she lay prostrate with the fever 
of the country. During her last illness she expressed a 
wish to see me. It was delayed from fear of agitating her. 
And so she died." 

" Bitterly mourning, as I know she did, her forfeited 
peace, her wasted time, her lost blessing, what availed her 
those purple mountains, ami cloudless skies and sunny 
shores, in which her natural taste delighted, and where she 
found a foreign grave? What availed her art's multiplied 
forms of beauty, or the sweet sounds in which she vainly 
strove to forget her loneliness? Death, the grave, eternity, 
swallowed up the heart's false idols ! 

" The child of faith needs to be assured of the will of the 
Lord before he goes forth on foreign travel, aimless in all 
but the gratification of what is called the natural taste. The 
continual change of scene, the contact with what at first he 
would gladly avoid, will otherwise humble or depress him. 
It may possibly end by his looking more leniently on what 
first filled him with dismay. The lovely scenes and the en- 
ervating climate may weaken the life of faith by giving a 
preponderance to that of sense. Thus his own fair inheri- 
tance and the eternal glory, will wane paler and paler to the 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 183 

spiritual eye. Things that cease to be desired are no longer 
realized, and this world's idols take possession of the mind. 
With Christ as our companion, our Shepherd and our Light, 
we may sojourn safely in the stranger's land, as elsewhere. 
Without Him there is danger everywhere ; perhaps in no 
position so insidiously as in foreign travel." 

A writer in the Earnest Christian mentions meeting with 
a woman at a meeting in Chicago, whose sorrowful counte- 
nance betokened sadness of heart, In a conversation which 
followed, she said that she had once been a happy, earnest 
Christian, but had married a man who was not a religious 
person. He did not like to see her reading the Bible, or to 
hear her conversing on religious subjects, and soon began to 
object to her going to meetings for worship, and would seem 
angry or displeased when she returned from them. To 
please her husband, she gave up all these things ; and in 
thus yielding her own convictions of what was right, she lost 
her own peace of mind and happiness. " And now," she 
said, " five weeks ago, I left my home to visit friends in this 
city, and I have received a letter from my husband, saying 
he has no affection for me, and hopes I shall not come back 
again." And she added, "O, if I had only been faithful 
unto God, I should have been happy myself, and I believe 
before now he would have been converted too." 

Many have known what it is to suffer great loss and to 
be involved in serious difficulties from a neglect of the holy 
watchfulness enjoined by our Saviour. 

John Richardson* in his journal mentions his return 
home from a religious visit to America, and says : " And 
now I was under a thoughtfulness how to walk and demean 
myself so as that I might be preserved near the Lord, and in 
due reverence and true fear before Him ; that, inasmuch as 
I found there was something of 'Holiness unto the Lord,' 
imprinted or engraven upon the fleshly table of my heart, 
that now, in this time, when I was not so particularly and 
immediately concerned in the like daily travel on Truth's 
account, I might not lose the savor, relish and sensation of 

* See note, p. 77. 



184 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

heavenly things. * * * Now in this careful and watchful 
frame of mind, I have found preservation from time to time 
to this day, by retaining the salt of the kingdom in the soul 
of the inward man, which is of a preserving quality," with 
which the vessel is and can only be kept fit for the Master's 
use." 

In another place, he pens this caution : "Now, my tender 
and well beloved Friends, watch against and strive to keep out 
the enemy that he enter not ; for what way soever he enters 
and gets footing, he defiles God's temple; and before thou wit- 
nesses the Lord to destroy him and cast him out again, thou 
must have many a sore combat and some warfare (perhaps 
more than thou art aware of ) before thou gainest all the 
ground thou hast lost, by giving way to the adversary of 
thy soul ; therefore keep upon thy watch-tower, watch unto 
the end, watch and pray continually, that ye enter not into 
temptation, said our great Lord unto his followers." 

This watchful care is as essential for those who minister 
unto others as it is for their hearers ; indeed, there are pe- 
culiar dangers in the path of those who are eminently gifted, 
and who attract the admiration of others. Rutty, in his 
History of Friends in Ireland, relates the case of Abigail 
Bowles, afterwards Smith, who was convinced about the year 
1675, and about eight years afterwards came forth as a 
minister. He says : — 

" She was an eloquent woman, of a majestic presence, 
much admired and followed. She travelled on truth's ac- 
count both in Ireland and England, had acceptable service 
in many places, and several persons were convinced by her 
ministry. She was greatly applauded by many, and, not 
being strong enough to bear praise, was transported into 
pride thereby, lost her gift and fellowship with Friends, and 
from the highest pitch of applause fell into as low a degree 
of contempt. It is certain, however, that she became sensible 
of the fall, and suffered many bitter agonies on that account, 
passing the latter years of her life in retirement, great sorrow 
and mortification. She has left behind her a pathetic paper 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 185 

of self-condemnation, as a caution to all who think they 
stand, although in the highest station, to take heed lest they 
fall." 

In a paper which she prepared, she " warned those con- 
cerned in the ministry to watch against that Luciferian 
spirit which would deck and adorn itself with the gifts and 
graces of the Holy Spirit, and not to value themselves upon 
any gift which God bestows on them ; because that ooens a. 
wide door for temptation." 

One of the most successful stratagems of the enemy of all 
righteousness, is to delude mankind with the idea that if 
they yield to the temptation which is presented it will 
matter little, for it is a small thing, a very slight departure 
from the right way, and that they need go no further than 
they choose in the path of self-indulgence. But it is by 
Grace only that we are able to stand, and he who leaves 
his only sure Helper, and follows the enemy, has no power 
of his own to return to the fold from which he has wandered. 
It can only be through the fresh extension of that Divine 
love, whose pleadings he has rejected. 

It is recorded of a man who was confined in prison under 
sentence of death for murder, that he was visited there by 
two young men who manifested an interest in his condition, 
one of whom asked him how the sad occurrence happened. 

" It did not all happen at once, young man," was the slow 
reply. " Sit down in that chair, and I'll tell you about it. 
It did not all happen at once," he repeated' "it did not all 
happen in a day or a month, or even in a year. It was true 
that I sent an axe crushing into the brains of a fellow man 
— that happened in a moment of time, but I was long years 
in getting to that moment. Once, young man," and here 
the speaker's voice trembled. " I was as pure as you are — 
vice had not then left its fearful stain upon my face ; and I 
would not then have harmed the meanest of God's creatures. 
But the tempter whispered to me, just as he does to all, and 
I unconsciously yielded. He Avhispered again and again, 
16- 



18G I N 1 D E X T S A N D REFLBCTI N S . 

and I yielded, each time resolving in my heart never to yield 
again. But I trusted in my own strength, so that when 
temptation came again, I was like a reed shaken in the wind. 
Little by little I gave up the contested ground to my enemy, 
and little by little I drifted away from right and truth — away 
from honor and manhood — away from God and heaven. The 
tempter whispered in louder tones, until he shrieked in awful 
tones, 'Murder that man,' and I did the awful deed. Young 
man, in God's name, don't yield to the first temptation. If 
an evil thought comes to you, crush it as you would a viper 
— turn away the very first suggestion of the tempter and 
then you are safe." 

The rough-looking prisoner was trembling like a leaf 
when he ceased speaking, and the two young men were 
almost as deeply agitated. It was a lesson that they never 
forgot. 

A boy from the country obtained a position in a banking- 
house in a city. Before leaving him in the counting-room, 
his father took him aside, and gave him this advice : " My 
son, be obedient, obliging, civil and respectful ; be attentive 
to busine-s, be honest, be trustworthy. Above all, remember 
the motto, ' Thou, God, seest me.' " 

He promised he would, and kept his pledge for a time. 
He followed as closely as possible his father's advice, and 
gained the esteem of his equals and the confidence of his 
superiors. He rose step by step till he occupied one of the 
most responsible positions in the place. 

But he was not to live always a stranger to temptation. 
At any moment he might have laid his hand on hundreds 
or thousands of dollars, and walked away with the money. 
At first he reproached himself for permitting the thought of 
such covetousness to enter his mind; but the temptation 
grew stronger, and he grew weaker. The plans by which 
the wicked act could be carried out opened before him. 
Everything arranged itself with the nicest harmony and 
precision. The evening was set, the money was where he 
could lay his hand on it in a moment. Through all the 
preceding day he was fearfully tried. At last the fearful 
moment came. All the others had left. He remained, under 



INC I D E N T S A N D R B 1' LECTIONS. 187 

the pretence of finishing .some business. He walked to the 
vault and swung open the heavy door. As he reached out 
his hand to grasp the money, it fell from his fingers as if it 
had been a bar of red hot iron. He trembled as if in con- 
vulsions, for then the burning thought flashed across his 
excited mind, "Thou, God, seest me." He felt the eye or 
God gazing upon him, and, with a reproving glance warn- 
ing him of his guilt. He fell upon the floor and groaned 
aloud. The money he had dropped seemed to answer, "Thou, 
God, seest him." He cried out aloud, " O God of my mother, 
save me from this crime ! " 

And God did save him. In uttering the prayer he had 
passed the crisis. He replaced the package of money, 
closed the vault, and repairing at once to the house of the 
president of the bank, related to him all that had trans- 
pired, and begged to be dismissed from his position. The 
president was a good and wise man, and promised that he 
would keep the matter secret, assured him that his confi- 
dence in him was not destroyed, and that he would keep him 
in his place. But he advised him to retire for a month from 
the bank to recover his shattered energies, and to reflect 
upon the past and prepare himself for the future. 

At the end of that time he came back, with a deep sense 
of his own weakness, but with a firm reliance on the grace 
of God as his only true safeguard, and with a more abiding 
sense than ever of the great truth, " Thou, God, seest me." 

It is many years since this occurred. It is a lesson from 
the life of an experienced banker ; but, with some modifica- 
tions, it is a history of the temptations that beset scores of 
boys and young men in city life. May the result be also 
the history of every one that is tempted to do what is not 
right in the sight of God ! 

In one of the Methodist journals I find a narrative writ- 
ten by R. H. Howard, which illustrates the danger there is 
of going backward in religious condition, if the holy watch 
against evil is not maintained. The person of whom he 
speaks was the son of a wealthy and influential physician 
in Connecticut. When about twenty-two years of age he 
united himself with the Methodist Episcopal Church and 



188 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

became a zealous worker in that denomination. But a 
fondness for the wine-cup led him astray, as it has many 
others. Through neglect of the warnings of Divine Grace 
in his own heart, which would have preserved him from 
this snare, he became finally so enslaved by his passion for 
strong drink that he lost property and friends, and, sink- 
ing from one degradation to another, at length father and 
brothers cast him off", and finally his wife felt compelled to 
abandon him and seek a refuge in her own father's home. 

Rendered reckless and desperate by the depths to which 
this habit had brought him, he enlisted in the United States 
army, then engaged in subduing the Indian tribes of Florida 
and the Western frontier. For eight years thereafter he 
continued to lead that half-civilized life that soldiers then 
led amid the Florida swamps and the Western prairies. 
Meantime, surrounded by the hardships and privations of 
such a life, he learned to prize the home he had so reck- 
lessly broken up, and to curse the habit which had caused 
all his bitter woe. 

With the breaking, however, of the chain that bound 
him, strange to say, came no revival of his olden love to 
God. On the contrary, he seemed, rather, only to harden 
his heart and to sear his conscience by adopting every infidel 
doctrine he had ever known. The consequence was, that 
when his term of service was completed, and he had re- 
turned to home and friends, and had become a temperate 
man, and so a kind husband and father, and a respected 
citizen once more, he had also become a confirmed infidel 
— a bitter contemner and opposer of every thing connected 
with God and religion. The very talent which had once 
made him an effective worker in a good cause now made 
him no less successful in a bad one; and he who had once 
written of a Saviour's love, now not only utterly denied his 
divinity, but gave himself, with pestilent activity, to the 
destruction of the faith of others in that Saviour's Lordship 
and Godhead. 

Some twelve years after his return his wife died. It was 
a terrible blow to him, for notwithstanding his previous 
faults, they were devotedly attached to each other. This 
affliction, however, severe as it was, did not vet seem in 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 189 

any degree to soften his heart. Instead, indeed, he seemed 
only the more rabidly to rebel against the hand that had 
chastened him. 

Two years later consumption laid its remorseless hand 
upon him. Slowly he failed, until at length he knew he 
must die. At first he gave no signs of relenting. About 
two weeks, however, before his death, his stubborn heart, 
his pride of intellect that had so long upheld him, utterly 
gave away, and, like a poor, broken-hearted child, he came 
back to the foot of the cross, supplicating with a truly despair- 
ing earnestness and energy for the peace and pardon he had 
once enjoyed. He was one of the saddest, the most wretched, 
heart-broken of human beings. " I have sinned against such 
light!" he would say: "I have crucified the Saviour afresh 
— counted the blood of the covenant wherewith I was sanc- 
tified an unholy thing ; there remains for me, therefore, no 
more atonement for sin." 

He conversed freely about his former Christian experi- 
ence, always closing with remarks like these : " I am worse 
than Judas. I sold my master for nothing. Like Peter, I 
denied Him but, unlike Peter, I did it without provocation. 
Like Saul of Tarsus, I persecuted Him, but, unlike Saul, I 
did it," he said bitterly, " with a full knowledge that he was 
the Messiah." 

In this despairing frame of mind he remained until his 
death, earnestly entreating every one around him to pray 
for him, and with the publican's prayer ever upon his lips. 

The last words he ever uttered were, " Lord Jesus have 
mercy ! " 

Whatever hopes we may entertain, that this prayer was 
heard and answered, yet the narrative is one that strongly 
enforces the need of obeying the command of our Saviour 
— " Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation ;" and of 
following the example of the Apostle Paul, who said, " I 
keep my body under and bring it into subjection, lest by 
any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should 
be a castaway." 

Closely connected with humility and watchfulness, is 
that submissive spirit manifested by the Patriarch Job, who 



190 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

was grieviously afflicted, yet replied to the suggestion of his 
wife — " What ! shall we receive good at the hand of God, 
and shall we not receive evil ? " The submissive spirit which 
breathed in this answer is acceptable in the Divine sight, and 
ought ever to animate him who loves the Lord and desires to 
walk in obedience to his will. Indeed, hard as at times it 
may be to attain to this condition, yet there is great encour- 
agement to strive for it, Avhen we remember the declaration, 
that all things work together for good to them that fear God. 
The very trials which now seem grievous may be the chan- 
nel through which greater blessings will flow ; and are si^e 
to yield " peaceable fruits of righteousness " to them who 
bear them in a proper spirit. 

Want of submission really implies a rebellious spirit — 
not willing to trust the government of ourselves and of all 
that concerns us in the hands of the Ruler of the Universe. 
Hence, where it is indulged, it tends to bring a cloud over 
the mind, and to prevent the clear shining of the Son of 
righteousness into the heart. 

It is recorded of a minister of the Gospel, whose labors 
had been blessed to his hearers, that he lost a young daugh- 
ter whom he greatly loved, and grieved immoderately for 
her loss. He became sensible that the Divine Power which 
had once attended him, was no longer to be felt in his minis- 
trations ; and he sought out an aged woman, who was one 
of his hearers, and inquired of her, if she still received 
benefit from his teaching. She replied that now s^e could 
gain nothing from his ministry. A week after, he repeated 
the inquiry ; and the faithful woman told him, that his dis- 
course lacked unction, and that his words were nothing to 
her; that she had prayed for him, and the feeling that 
impressed her mind was — "he is joined to his idols." The 
admonition was not unheeded. He drew from his breast a 
portrait of the child he had so lamented, and broke it to 
pieces under his feet ; and, it is to be hoped, bowed in sub- 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 191 

mission to the dispensation allotted, in accordance with the 
prayer of our Holy Redeemer, " not my will, but thine be 
clone." 

One of the most touching instances of submission based 
on childlike faith and trust, that we have ever met with, 
is that narrated in the Sunday School Times of a tender- 
hearted, loving child in a New England home. The nar- 
rative says : 

He loved as he was loved, and he was worthy of all the 
love which was given to him. One day, as he was starling 
out for a ride with his parents, he asked them where they 
Avere going; and they told him that they were going to take 
him up to the new cemetery, a beautiful city of the dead by 
the river's bank, beyond the town. His bright face grew 
shadowed, and his little lips quivered, so that his father 
asked him, " Why, Willie, don't you want to go there ? " 
Quietly the trustful answer came back, " Yes, if you think 
it best, papa." And they rode on silently, in through the 
broad gateway ; on, along the ti*ee-shaded and turf-bordered 
avenues. The child seemed strangely quiet, clinging in 
love to his mother's side, and looking up from time to time 
with a face that seemed never so beautiful in its restful con- 
fidence. As they finally passed out again from the gateway 
they had entered, the dear child drew a breath of relief, and 
looking up in new surprise asked:' "Why, am I going back 
with you again ? " " Of course, you are. Why should you 
doubt it ? " " Why, I thought that when they took little 
children to the cemetery, they left them there," said that 
hero-child. And then it was found that wath a child's 
imperfect knowledge, that dear boy had supposed he was 
being taken, at the call of God, and by the parents whom 
he loved and trusted, to be buried in the place which he 
had heard of only as a place of burial. And all by him- 
self he had had the struggle with himself, and had proved 
the victor. " Yes, yes," you say ; " but that was a child's 
foolish fancy, a mere fear of his imaginings." Ay, and the 
most desperate of all struggles are our struggles with dangers 



192 INCIDENTS AXD REFLECTIONS. 

that are unreal. The sorest conflicts for which we must make 
preparation are conflicts which do not occur ; and the bat- 
tles which Ave anticipate with direst dread are battles which 
are never fought. In all the course of life, 

"Present fears 
Are less than horrible imaginings." 

When clanger or disease comes upon those who are most 
dear to us, it is often very hard to bow in submission to the 
will of Him who doeth all things well. And yet He only 
knoweth what the end shall be, and what will most effectu- 
ally promote the real welfare of his children. It has some- 
times happened that those who have been raised from the 
bed of sickness, have become alienated from God, and a 
source of trouble and distress to their friends. 

Many years ago, one who was a valued member of the 
Society of Friends, had a son who was highly esteemed and 
whom he greatly loved ; and who, when about nineteen 
years of age, was very ill, apparently nigh unto death. 
Anxious that he should not be taken away, the father knelt 
by his bedside and prayed that the life of his son might be 
spared. The son did recover from his sickness, but after- 
wards fell into evil courses. 

About the time referred to, a merchant residing at Wheel- 
ing, Va., fitted out a boat with store-goods, and made a 
trading voyage down the river. In the neighborhood of 
Salina^ the boat was observed by two men in a situation 
which awakened their suspicions. They obtained a small 
boat and crossed the Ohio to the opposite shore where it 
was lying. On inquiring of the crew for the captain, they 
were told that he had gone overboard in the night, and was 
missing. The men gave them his name, and said he came 
from Wheeling. On being further questioned, the boat hands 
slipped away ; leaving the boat deserted. Not long after, a 
body was discovered, with marks of violence upon it, which 
was" supposed to be that of the captain, as he was never 
heard of afterwards. 

Under the circumstances, the two men at Salina thought 
it best to sell the boat and its contents. This thev did, and 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 193 

wrote to the family, telling them the money would be deliv- 
ered to the person they should send for it. The young man 
who had then recently recovered from his illness, was 
requested to go to Salina ; the money was paid to him, but 
he never made a return of it to the family. It was sup- 
posed that he was enticed by some gamblers, and lost that 
with which he had been entrusted. 

This incident was related to a friend of the writer by (me 
of the members of the family of the missing merchant. It 
ought to teach us the need of a submissive spirit, even when 
the life of a beloved relative is at stake ; for only He who 
knoweth the end from the beginning, can tell whether life 
or death will be the greatest blessing. 

That submission which Ave owe in the first place to the 
great Ruler of the Universe, extends also in degree to those 
who are placed over us by his authority. Children must 
obey their parents, pupils their teachers, and citizens the 
magistrates. And in the church there is a deference due 
from the younger and less experienced to those who are 
further advanced. This is included in the Apostle's advice, 
" All of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with 
humility." In accordance with this principle, Isaac Pen- 
ington says : " It is the ordinance of the Lord for the weak 
to receive counsel and help from the strong, and for the 
lesser to be watched over and blessed by the greater, — by 
such as more grown in the life and into the power." 

This submissive spirit, of which I have been speaking, is 
shown in the patient endurance of those seasons of the with- 
holding of spiritual comfort, which the Lord dispenses to 
his servants, as part of their necessary discipline. 

The late James Emlen,* when speaking of his early re- 

* An elder in the Society of Friends. Died at West Chester, Pa., in 
1866, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. See Memorials of Deceased 
Friends, p. 390. 
17 



194 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

ligious life, said that for a considerable time after he had 
yielded to the work of the Spirit in his heart, he was favored 
with almost uninterrupted tenderness and peace— but as he 
progressed in religious experience, he found that he had 
seasons of desertion and conflict to pass through, as has 
always been the case with the Lord's servants. I remember 
hearing him remark to a young person who was in a tender 
state of mind, and enjoying the lively narratives of their 
religious exercises left on record by worthies who have 
passed away: "Ah! this is bounty money. The time will 
come in which thou wilt have to work for thy wages." 

That worthy elder, Abraham Shackleton,* in a letter 
written to a grand-child in 1770, says of himself : "My 
mind is mostly centered among those who are begging their 
bread, and had rather be honestly poor, than filled with 
unwholesome food, and lose my appetite for that which 
nourishes the soul up to eternal life. At times I thankfully 
acknowledge, to the praise of the bountiful hand that satis- 
fies the hungry babes with proper sustenance, I have par- 
taken with the poor of the flock, of what keeps me from 
fainting." 

His son Richard Shackleton,f in 1784, expressed himself 
as follows : " My heart is never so comfortable, and I am 
never so well satisfied with myself; as when I am in the 
deeps, with the billows passing over my head, engaged in a 
travail of spirit for the promotion of Christianity, and the 
welfare of mankind." 

Some writer mentions meeting with an aged colored man, 
a sexton, who was sitting on the step of a small meeting- 
house, and with whom he entered into conversation. The 
old man told him that the greater part of his life had been 
spent in sin and folly; and though he had changed his 
course of life some years before, yet he had only just 

*A prominent Friend in Ireland. Died in 1771, aged seventy-four 
years. The celebrated Edmund Burke was one of his pupils. 

f Son of Abraham Shackleton, whom he succeeded in his school at 
Ballitore, Ireland. An intimate friend of Edmund Burke, and a most 
worthy and pious man. See Memoirs by his daughter, Mary Lead- 
beater. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 195 

learned how to chew crusts. When asked for an explanation, 
he replied, that when he gave up his heart to the Lord, 
for a long time he thought the Lord must feed him with 
" pie and cake and all good things. I was not pleased if 
He didn't, but now I'm satisfied any way. I can take a 
crust from his hand as well as any thing." 

This old colored man appears to have learned the lesson 
of the apostle, to be content in whatever state he was ; and 
to be satisfied with whatever food his Heavenly Father saw 
to be " convenient for him." 



PART III. 



THE LORDS CARE OYER HIS 
PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER VII 



Divine Help. Healing and Protection. Thomas Story and Drinking 
Healths. John Richardson Healed. Joseph Hoag and the Woman 
in Despair. Joseph Hoag's Injury. Endre Dahl Shipwrecked. The 
Highland Weaver. The Railroad Engineer. John Wesley's Prayer. 
Providential Preservation. Daniel Stanton in a Storm. Vessel on 
the Coast of Norway. The Poor Schoolmaster. Unexpected Relief. 
The Honest Costermonger. The Conscientious Mechanic. Bishop 
Gobat and the Hyena. Catharine Phillips and the Hostile Fleet. 
The Convicted Colonel. The Uneasy Captain. Trusting In God. 
Support under Suffering. William Leddra. James Renwick. Dying 
Grace for Dying Hours. The Resigned Cripple. "Couple Heaven 
with it." John Churchman in the Dead Timber. Old David's 
Weapons. Nicholas Wain. Thomas Story. Friends during Indian 
Wars. 

The illustrations in the preceding part of this volume 
have chiefly referred to the manner in which Divine Grace 
operates upon the heart of man ; and to the blessed fruits 
brought forth in those who yield to its influence, and be- 
come branches of the True Vine. But the Saviour, who 
promised to be with his disciples even unto the end of the 
world, does not forsake his children, when their feet have 
been turned into the narrow way of self-denial, which leads 



J X 01 DENTS AN J) REFLECTIONS. 197 

to the Heavenly City ; but goes with them ou their journey ; 
guiding, preserving and helping them, and enabling them 
to trust in his watchful care. In the present section, it is 
proposed to insert some illustrations of this branch of our 
subject. 

The Psalmist, speaking in the name of the Most High, 
uses this encouraging exhortation, " Call upon me in the 
day of trouble ; I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify 
me." Many of the servants of the Lord since that day, 
have experienced the fulfilment of this precious promise ; 
and some of them have left on record their testimony to 
His goodness, and the gracious manner in which He has 
appeared for their help in times of trial and perplexity. 

When Thomas Story* was a young man, and had sub- 
mitted to the visitation of Divine Grace with which he was 
favored ; and had set his face in earnest to seek for trea- 
sures in Heaven ; his father was greatly distressed at his 
son's conduct, which he feared would destroy the hopes and 
plans he had formed for his worldly success and prosperity ; 
and he used many efforts to turn him aside from the path he 
had chosen. On one occasion, some of his friends, and his 
father among them, being at a tavern, they sent for Thomas 
to join them; thinking, that by the exhilarating effects of 
spirits, they might change the current of his thoughts. He 
says : — 

" While they were contriving this scheme, I was retired 
alone in my chamber, and favored with a sense of the good 
and soul-nourishing presence of the Lord ; but, after some 
time, a concern came upon me, which gave me to expect 
something was in agitation concerning me ; and, soon after, 
an attorney-at-law of my acquaintance, came from the com- 
pany to me, and mentioned certain gentlemen who desired 
to see me at the tavern." * * " When we came there, 
the company all arose from their seats, and seeming gener- 
ally glad, put on airs of pleasantness. 

* See note, p. 111. 
17* 



1 98 I X ( ' [ 1 1 E X T S A X I ) K K F L E C T IONS. 

" In seating themselves again, they placed me so as that 
I was in the midst, environed by them, and then they put 
the glass round ; and to relish it the more, they began a 
health to King William. But the secret presence of the 
Lord being with me, though hid from them, it affected 
them all in a way they did not expect; for scarce had two 
of them drank, till their countenances changed, and all 
were silenced. The glass, nevertheless, went forward till it 
came to me, and then I told them, I wished both the king 
and them well, and if I could drink to the health of any at 
all, I should more especially to the king's, but should drink 
no health any more; and so refused it : And the glass never 
went round, for several of them fell a-weeping, and were 
much broken, and all of them silenced for a time ; which, 
when over, some of them said, they believed I intended 
well in what I did, and that every man must be left to pro- 
ceed in the way bethinks right in the sight of (bid: and so 
we parted in solid friendship. It was the secret grace of 
God which wrought this ; and to Him, the Lord alone, did 
I impute it. And, the company dispersing, I returned to 
my chamber in Divine peace, and true tranquillity of mind ; 
with which I was favored for many days." 

Many have had cause to bear witness to the goodness of 
the Lord in helping them in outward matters; and some to 
praise Him for the healing of their diseases, or the removal 
of their infirmities. 

John Richardson* relates that in his youth he was much 
afflicted with lameness, caused by 'a disease in one of his 
limbs, which had resisted all the efforts and skill used to 
heal it ; and with a stammering tongue, which was a dis- 
couragement to him in yielding to the duty which he felt 
to be laid upon him to speak to the people as a Gospel min- 
ister. Soon after he gave up freely and cheerfully to an- 
swer the Lord's requi rings he says: "The Lord healed me 
of my lameness, and then 1 cried unto Him, that He would 
also heal my tongue of its stammering, believing that the 
Lord was as able to take away the impediment of my 
* See note, p. 77. 



I N ( ' I D E N T S A N J > R E F L E C T I N S . 1 99 

tongue, as He was to stop the violence of that humor which 
had attended my body, and had a recourse to my leg, and 
made it sore from above the ankle to the knee: and not- 
withstanding several men had given their advice and had 
showed their skill, it all proved ineffectual, until I came to 
believe in Jesus Christ, and to press through all to Him, and 
to touch the skirt or lowest appearance of his blessed truth 
and power, in which I found true healing virtue to my soul, 
and also to my body, and to my tongue, even to my admira- 
tion ; so that I did not only speak plain in the testimony 
the Lord gave me to bear, but also spoke plain in my inter- 
course with men." 

When he had taken cold, it often caused sore throat, 
-which so affected his voice that he could scarcely speak so 
as to be heard. On one of his religious journeys, he found 
himself in this condition, and sat in a meeting under great 
exercise of mind. " Having," he says, " left all, as I believed, 
to do what the Lord required of me, and yet I apprehended 
myself, by means of this affliction not likely to be of any 
service; and after some reasonings, and a fervent seeking 
to the Lord to know the cause of this great trouble, and 
withal to bring my mind to a true resignation to the will of 
God in this, and in all the trials the Lord might see good in 
his wisdom to exercise me in ; I had not been long brought 
into this devoted and resigned state to be and to do what the 
Lord would have me do ; but oh ! I felt of the virtue of 
Christ as a sweet and living spring, by which I was healed: 
I was, and am to this day (when I remember the Lord's 
kind dealings with me) very thankful to Him." 

When John Richardson visited the West Indies, he landed 
at Barbadoes on a Sixth-day of the week, so ill of a violent 
fever, that his life was considered in danger. The next day 
but one, he went to a meeting, though with great difficulty, 
being very weak. During his sitting there, he says: "Under 
much weakness of body, yet quiet in mind, the living virtue 
or heavenly power of Christ sprang up in my inward man, 
like healing and suppling oil, which so effectually helped 
me every way, that I could say feelingly and experimentally, 
miracles are not ceased ; for I was raised bevond my own 



200 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

expectation, and all others who knew my weak state, to give 
testimony to the glorious coming and manifestation of Christ 
in power, spirit, life, light and grace, for the help, health 
and salvation of all the children of men who receive, believe 
in and obey his spiritual knocks, reproofs and heavenly calls 
in the soul, without any lessening to his humanity. Great 
cause have I, with all the living, to love, value, honor and 
reverence the great and mighty name of Him who hath 
helped and healed, by sending his eternal Word of living 
power into our hearts." 

The goodness of the Lord is often manifested in the heal- 
ing of our spiritual and mental diseases, as well as of those 
more purely physical. Joseph Hoag* mentions visiting a 
sick woman, who had long been a sufferer. He says : — 

" I had not been long in the house, before it opened in 
my mind, that the sick woman was in despair, — wearing 
out in a decline, under the affliction of all the terrifying 
ideas that the human mind was capable of realizing. I 
was led to state her condition to her, and how she came 
into it, and that if she labored to get into the quiet, and 
then turn her attention to the Lord, and pour forth to Him 
her prayers, they would be heard, and she would experience 
reconciliation with her God, and her peace to be made, wit- 
nessing the seals of redeeming love, before she went hence 
to be seen of men no more. * * I was informed afterwards 
by her sister that nursed her, that she soon became very 
quiet ; and sometime before she died, she expressed that she 
had become reconciled to her Maker, and was willing to 
die ; feeling that peace and love that was an evidence to 
her that her sins were forgiven, and she should be happy." 

Joseph Hoag in one instance, in his own case, experienced 
the power of the Lord both to wound and to heal. He was 
visiting meetings in New York State at the time. He says : 

" While at Smith's Clove meeting, the last I expected to 
attend in this vicinity, except one in course next day, near 

*See note, p. 100. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 201 

the close of the meeting it came over my mind with weight, 
to appoint three more meetings before I left. I exclaimed 
in my mind, I can not, for I have been five months from 
home, spring work is coming on, and I am in low circum- 
stances and must go home. I broke up the meeting — a 
Friend came to me at the door, and expressed that his feel- 
ings were such that he wanted me to have three more meet- 
ings, and named the places that had opened to me. I told 
him bluntly, ' I have set my face homeward, I do not intend 
to turn to the right or left;' feeling determined that home 
I would go. I had not rode far, before my horse in a brisk 
trot, fell through the frost and threw me over his head with 
such force, that i dropped on my head. A Friend riding 
behind, said he heard my neck snap like a dry stick — 1 sup- 
pose it parted one joint; I rose upon my feet with a smile 
as was observed, then fell on the ground, remaining uncon- 
scious until I found myself sitting up, being supported, feel- 
ing as though I had awoke out of sleep. My neck and head 
soon commenced paining me very severely : it seemed al- 
most insupportable. I was taken by short stages to the 
Friend's house, where the meeting was held that I expected 
to attend, which I think was the next day. I kept my bed 
mostly that and the following day until meeting-time ; my 
neck being swollen with a hard ring around it, that felt 
more like a bone than flesh, and looked nearly black, so 
that my case was thought dangerous ; but through divine 
mercy I had a number of hours for reflection, in which my 
feelings were solemn. When meeting-time came, I was 
placed on a bed in the room where the meeting was held, it 
being my desire. In the early part of the meeting a voice 
spoke to me, as intelligibly as ever I heard a vocal sound, 
' If thou wilt go back and have the meetings, I, the Lord, 
that have wounded thee, and stopped thee in thy course, 
will enable to perform all I recpuire of thee ; and this shall 
be an evidence to thee, that I, the Lord, speak to thee — thou 
shalt be enabled to bear a testimony for me in this meeting.' 
Under the impressions of this voice, my mind was brought 
into a calm, and I was led to view, why it was, that I was 
brought into this situation ; and also that it was offensive to 
the Almighty, and dangerous for man who knew the Lord's 



202 INCIDENT. S AND REFLECTIONS. 

will, stubbornly to disobey. My mind was seriously humbled, 
my spirit contrited before the Lord, and glad to feel the 
smiles of forgiving mercy ouce more, being made willing to 
give up all to his disposal. Towards the close of the meeting, 
with the help of my companion, unexpectedly to my friends, 
I rose on my feet, and was enabled, I believe, to bear an ac- 
ceptable testimony to my friends, and felt great peace of 
mind for the obedience ; my pains also were much mitigated. 

" At the close of the meeting I called a Friend to me, 
agreeably to the opening of the light on my mind, and de- 
sired him to go to the nearest place, and give notice of a 
meeting for the next day ; and word was sent to the other 
two places, one in the day, and the other in the evening. 
He answered me, ' I have not faith to believe thou canst 
possibly do it.' I answered, 'My faith is enough for both 
of us — the meeting must be appointed. 9 

" He went and did accordingly. Next day I rode twelve 
miles, reached the place in good season, and had a satis- 
factory meeting. The following day and evening, attended 
the other two, to the relief of my mind — having to endure 
considerable pain, which I endeavored to bear with cheer- 
fulness, as I brought it upon myself I had thought to omit 
this event ; but finding an uneasy feeling to pervade my 
mind, therefore I have recorded it, much desiring that when 
my young Friends read these lines, they may pause a little, 
and behold the tender mercy of Jehovah, when we are 
brought under the chastening rod, to spare life, even when 
apparently in the jaws of death ; and when rightly sought 
unto, equally tender to forgive, heal, and give ability to do 
all He requires of us ; and then richly to reward the obedient 
with heavenly peace. Adored forever be his holy name !" 

There are many remarkable instances on record of the 
care which He, without whose notice not a sparrow falls to 
the ground, extends for the help and preservation of those 
who place - their trust in Him. 

William Tallack of London, relates of the late Endre 
Dahl, a well-known and greatly respected Norwegian Friend, 
that when a young man, he came to England in 1843. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 203 

After a considerable stay at Newcastle, he took passage in 
a small vessel bound for Norway, and found that he had 
a very ungodly and scoffing band of companions on board. 
In crossing the German Ocean, they were run down in tbe 
night by a much larger ship on her way to England. The 
smaller vessel began to sink, and, but for the vigorous assist- 
ance furnished by young Dahl, the little company on board 
must have gone with her, as the captain of the other ship 
pitilessly pursued his course and left them to their fate. 
They managed, however, to get into their boat, which was 
a leaky one. They had only one oar to row with, and a 
pair of boots to bail out the water. E. Dahl in this extremity 
was able to maintain a confident trust in God, and a pro- 
found peace. His companions who had previously ridiculed 
him, now relied upon him for comfort and guidance. He 
exhorted them to turn to the Lord. 

When morning broke, the ship which had run them down 
was a mere speck on the distant horizon, and quite beyond 
the reach of any such poor signals of distress as the men in 
the boat could make. But as the day passed on it became 
evident that the ship had completely reversed her course, 
and was again approaching them. By-and-by she came 
up to them, and took them all on board, shortly after which 
the little leaky boat sunk beneath the waters. Endre Dahl 
could not refrain from expressing to the captain of the ship 
his sense of the cruelty he had at first shown in sailing away, 
and leaving them to their fate ; but he also asked him why, 
after proceeding so long on his way, he had at length come 
back to their rescue. The captain confessed that he hardly 
knew why he had returned, for he had fully resolved to 
take no further trouble in the matter. But a mysterious 
impulse to rescue them had, after all, come upon him so 
strongly that he felt impelled to yield to it, and accordingly 
did so. The earnest prayers in the boat, and the strong faith 
reposed in God by the leader of the little party, had been 
responded to by the Highest. 

An interesting incident is related in the S. S. Classmate, 
that occurred in the Highlands of Scotland years ago, when 
inns were not numerous, and wayfarers were accustomed to 



204 [ X ( ' T 1 > B X T B A X I) R E F L E C T I X S . 

ask lodgings at the houses by the wayside. At a lonely part 
of a highland road a weaver had his home. He was a very 
good man, and one who had real faith in God. He was poor, 
but hospitable, and kindly entertained belated strangers 
who asked to tarry for the night. But he was sometimes 
imposed upon by worthless characters, who rose early and 
made their escape with what they could most readily carry 
off 

His wife frequently said to him, that if he took in people 
he knew nothing of after the way he had been doing, they 
would be ruined by their depredations ; but he felt the 
necessity laid upon him, in his circumstances, to fulfill the 
Scripture command, "to entertain strangers," and, although 
he wished to discriminate, he could not think of giving up 
the practice. 

A person presented himself at his door shortly after he 
had suffered at the hands of dishonest guests: and he, wish- 
ing to satisfy himself and his wife of the man's goodness of 
character, said, "Well, now, you are a stranger to me; 
what security do you give that you are such a person as 1 
ought to entertain ?" Without a moment's hesitation the 
man answered, " The Lord." " That's quite enough," said 
the good man, opening the door wide to the Avail. " Come 
in, come in. I receive you in the name of the Lord." And 
so the stranger admitted was hospitably treated, and, after 
worship, was shown to bed : but he was a thorough rogue, 
and before the day dawned, he had left the house with a 
web the weaver had got ready on the previous evening to 
carry to his employer. 

When the weaver and his wife got up the next morning, 
and found the fellow gone, his wife was in great perplexity, 
and, in her anxiety, gave way to upbraiding her husband, 
saying, " Now you see, it is just as I said ; we shall certainly 
be ruined by this foolish practice of yours. What are we 
now to do? The web's away, and how are Ave to live until 
you Aveave another?" 

It Avas a dark day to her, but not so to him ; for he said, 
" I got a good security, and 1 keep the security, and I am 
sure it will be all for the best. It was for the Lord's sake 
I received him ; and although he has proved himself un- 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 205 

worthy of our hospitality, yet Jesus is worthy, and we shall 
yet lose nothing by it." 

As the thief was crossing a hill, shunning the usual road, 
God enveloped him in a misty covering. He wandered 
long upon the hillside, this way and that, and at last got 
to the foot of the hill, and, knocking at a cottage, he asked 
if they would keep him for the night. The good man of 
the house recognized the voice, and said to him at once, 
" Come in, and down with the web !" The thief was thunder- 
struck, while the man said, " When you next intend to play 
similar pranks, mind not to give your security !" Down fell 
the web, and the thief in consternation, took to his heels. 

The explanation of the matter is, that the thief got be- 
wildered in the mist, and instead of going down the farther 
side of the hill, he came down the same side, and knocked 
at the very cottage door from which he had set out in the 
morning with the poor man's web. 

The Eocheder Democrat describes as follows, a remarka- 
ble occurrence on a New York express train, that was run- 
ning west from Albany : — 

The engine's headlight threw a strong reflection in ad- 
vance, but the storm was so blinding it was almost impossi- 
ble to distinguish anything even at a short distance. Under 
such circumstances instinct necessarily takes the place of 
sight. All seemed to be going well, when, in an instant, 
the engineer reversed his engine, applied the air brakes, 
and came to a full stop. Why he did so, he could not tell 
any more than any of us can account for the dread of com- 
ing disaster and death, and to the wondering inquiry of his 
fireman, he simply said : " I feel that something's wrong." 
Seizing a lantern, he swung himself down from the cab and 
went forward to investigate. Everything appeared to be 
right, and he was about to return to his engine, when his 
eye caught sight of a peculiar appearance at the joint of 
the rail next to him. Brushing the accumulated snow away, 
he looked a moment, and then uttered an exclamation of 
horror. The rails on both sides had been unspiked and 
would have turned over the instant the engine touched 
them. What inspired this attempt at train wrecking is 
18 



206 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

unknown, but it was presumed the confederates of some 
prisoners who were on the train, hoped, in the confusion of 
an accident, to deliver their friends. 

The engineer, to whose instinct was due the safety of the 
train, when asked why he stopped his engine, said : 

" I can't tell why, I only know I felt something was wrong." 

An interesting incident is related by Adam Clarke* of 
John Wesley ,f who had taken passage for Bristol in an 
English brig, which had touched at Guernsey on its voyage 
from France. They left Guernsey with a fine fair breeze, 
but in a short time it died away, and a contrary wind arose 
and blew with great force. John Wesley, who was in the 
cabin, broke forth in fervent supplication, which seemed, 
says A. Clarke, more the oftapring of strong faith than mere 
desire. He said : " Almighty and everlasting God, thou 
hast thy say everywhere, and all things serve the purposes 
of thy will ; thou holdest the winds in thy fists, and sittest 
upon the water floods, and reignest a King forever ; com- 
mand these winds and these waves that they obey Thee, 
and take us speedily and safely to the haven whither we 
would be," &c. The power of the petition was felt by all 
present. A. Clarke went on deck and found the wind 
changed, and the vessel standing on her course with a 
steady breeze, which did not abate, but carried them at the 
rate of nine or ten knots an hour, until they were safely 
anchored at their desired port. 

The following incident was related to the writer, by the 
person who was so remarkably preserved from a sudden 
death. He was, at the time it happened, a member of the 
Virginia Legislature, but felt conscientiously bound to always 
attend his week-day meeting for public worship. 

The room at Richmond, immediately over that in which 

* A distinguished Methodist scholar and writer. Born in Ireland in 
1762. Died in 1832. Author of Clarke's Commentary on the Scriptures, and 
other works. 

t A clergyman of the Church of England, and founder of the Metho- 
dist Society. Died in 1701 in his eighty-eighth year. He is said to have 
preached more than 40,000 sermons. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 207 

the legislature met, was occupied as a Court-room ; ami an 
unusual concourse of* people was drawn there by a case 
before the court which had excited the public interest. 
The weight was so heavy that the floor gave way, at a time 
when the Friend was at his meeting, and some sixty persons 
were killed. On returning from meeting, he found the 
desk at which he sat crushed to splinters by the fallen 
timbers ; and if he had been there, there is little doubt that 
he would have been among the killed. 

In the beginning of the year 1749, Daniel Stanton* in the 
course of a religious visit, sailed for England. As they ap- 
proached the British coasts, they encountered a storm, and 
the vessel having received some damage, the captain deter- 
mined to alter his course, and take refuge in the harbor of 
Kinsale, in Ireland. D. S. says : — 

"We got in sight of the harbor; but night coming on, 
and being fearful of rocks and shoals, they put off to sea, 
and the weather being moderate the fore part of the night, 
the seamen were too careless, and did not keep so strict a 
Avatch as they ought; but the captain, as he lay in his cabin, 
had so great an uneasiness on his mind, that he could not 
lay still any longer, and went towards the head of the vessel, 
and found that, instead of being out at sea, we were near 
striking on the land; whereupon he immediately awaked 
the sailors, and they tacked the vessel about, and were very 
watchful until morning ; thus we escaped that danger. 

" In the morning it was very foggy and a storm arose, and 
we could not discover the harbor, but were driven about for 
a considerable time. They threw overboard one anchor, but 
the storm continuing, and the weather distressing, we were 
drove towards the land, and the seamen being almost wearied 
out, apprehended we could not keep off much longer. Thus 
we were in great distress, expecting the vessel would be 
wrecked ; and the captain being much surprised, came to 
my companion and me, telling us he would do what he 
could to save our lives, but that we were in great danger of 
being lost, and he expected we would be drove on shore in 
* See note, p. 34. 



208 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

the night if we kept off in the day ; and was desirous to 
know our minds, what he had best to do, whether to run the 
ship aground while we had daylight, that if any of our lives 
were spared, we could the better see how to help ourselves. 
We, not knowing what to advise him for the best, only to 
trust in the good providence of God, the captain concluded 
to steer towards the land. The cries and lamentations of 
the people were great for mercy to their souls, apprehending 
the vessel might soon be dashed to pieces and we might 
suddenly lose our lives ; but 1 had reason to believe that 
the gracious and merciful Being was pleased to hear our 
cries ; for the nearer we came to land the fog cleared away, 
and they espied a vessel, which as we approached nearer, 
we discovered was lying at anchor, at the mouth of Kinsale 
harbor, where we wanted to be; and as we came on our 
way the harbor appeared plain. Thus through the great 
deliverance of the Almighty, we arrived there safe and 
dropped anchor; for which merciful preservation our hearts 
had great cause to be humbly bowed before Him. The 
captain came to me, saying, 'Now, if you have it in your 
heart to return God thanks, I will join with you on my bare 
knees; and if it had not been for your prayers, we should 
all have been lost ; ' but I ascribed this great deliverance to 
the kind mercy of Divine Providence to us all ; although 1 
can truly say, my soul was earnest in supplication before the 
Lord at times on this trying passage ; and at one particular 
season, as I lay in my cabin, not knowing but that we might 
be swallowed up in the mighty ocean, the spirit of prayer 
came on me, and I was raised on my knees to make inter- 
cession with the All-powerful Being; after' which I went 
upon the deck, and the captain, seeing me, expressed in 
a very loving manner, his unity and satisfaction ; and 1 
thought that the same good power and presence which at- 
tended my mind, had some reach upon his heart." 

When in England during this visit, D. Stanton met with 
one "professing the truth," who did not manifest a trusting 
confidence in the care and protection of the Ruler of the 
universe, but pleaded for carnal defence, and asked what 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 209 

defence people had in the province of Pennsylvania. Daniel 

says : — 

" I told him that Providence was our defence ; yet he 
pleaded for carnal defence in such a manner that gave me 
much pain of mind, and I told him that I had no unity 
with his principles, and bore my testimony against his un- 
profitable discourse." 

The Leominster Tract Association has published an ac- 
count of a remarkable deliverance of the crew of the " Provi- 
dence," a vessel that sailed from Sunderland, and was over- 
taken in a storm on her voyage home from the White Sea. 
The crew were at the pumps when the deck was swept by a 
large wave. In reply to the captain's question, " Are you 
all there?" he was answered, " All here, but the ship is a 
mere wreck." The cabin being filled, all the provisions were 
spoiled, and the water on deck was gone, all they had left 
being a cask in the forecastle and a few biscuits for a crew 
of seven or eight men. In this great trouble the master 
went below, and fell on his knees in his cabin, to ask the 
Lord to show him what he was to do. On rising from his 
knees, he fell into a kind of trance, in which it was clearly 
shown him what kind of coast they would approach, and 
the creek into which they would find an entrance. He saw 
a high bold shore with a sugarloaf cliff and a long low reef 
beyond, and three men in a boat coming towards the ship. 
He went on deck and ordered the foresail to be loosened 
and set, which after much difficulty was done. The mate 
asked him what they were going to do, he replied, " We 
must get the ship before the wind, and make for some place 
where we may obtain water and provisions." They had 
made an observation that day, and found that they were a 
hundred miles from the coast of Norway. The captain, 
after watching most of the night, lay down to rest, and after 
a time was awoke by the mate, saying, " Here is a high bold 
shore ahead, sir ! " On going on deck, Captain H. knew it 
was the shore he had seen in his cabin the day before, and 
went aloft on the cross-trees, telling the mate to steer ac- 
cording to his orders. 

They sailed along the coast all that day, the snow often 
18* 



210 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

falling heavily ; sometimes the ship was so near the rocks 
that the mate was alarmed. They passed two or three 
openings in the shore, and felt inclined to put into one or 
other of them, but as neither of them was the place the cap- 
tain had seen, they sailed on ; but by and by he told the 
mate that he would soon see a sugarloaf rock and then a 
long low reef, and inside that a sloop's mast at the end of 
the reef, and a boat would come out with three men in it. 
All this soon came in view, greatly to the mate's astonish- 
ment. When they got to the end of the reef the boat came 
alongside the " Providence," and the captain asked the men 
if they could take him to an anchorage. One of them came 
on board and asked the captain it he had not had a pilot, 
and when he was told he had not, he put his hands together 
and exclaimed, "Then how have you got in here? you must 
be a good man, God has been your Pilot." They brought 
the ship to anchor by the fishing craft, and the men soon 
supplied the strangers with water, bread and fish. The 
fisherman took the captain to his borne, and when he told 
the wonderful facts to his wife, she also exclaimed, " You 
must be a good man, God has been your Pilot!" In the 
morning the pilot took Captain H. to the top of a mountain, 
from which he could see several creeks, and asked him, 
pointing to some of them, if lie came in by any of those? 
And when, after hearing it was none of those, he showed 
him the right one, and was told that Avas the one he had 
entered by, he told him it was the only one by which it was 
possible to gain an entrance to that coast, again exclaiming, 
"You must be a good man, lor God has been your Pilot." 

After a good deal of delay, during which time the " Provi- 
dence" had been given up as lost at home, she was put into 
the best sea trim possible, and sailed for England, where she 
arrived in safetv, to the joy and satisfaction of all connected 
with her heaven-preserved and now restored crew. 

Captain H. could indeed say, " This poor man cried, and 
the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." 

The following narrative furnishes an example of those re- 
markable co-incidences in which the Christian loves to 



INCIDENTS A N D K B FLECTIONS. 211 

recognize the hand of his Heavenly Father. It was related 
in my hearing by a valuable friend : — 

At one time he chanced to be walking in the outskirts of 
Camden, New Jersey, and fell into conversation with a 
man there who kept a small grocery or provision store. 
The conversation assumed a somewhat serious tone, and the 
grocer narrated to my friend an incident of his early life. 
He was then very poor, and endeavoring to support his 
small family by teaching a few scholars at Berlin, N. J. 
His income was small, and it was with much difficulty that 
he could meet his necessary expenses. One day there was 
a vendue in the neighborhood, at which he was present. A 
horse was offered for sale on which few seemed disposed to 
bid. Tempted by the low price at which the animal could 
be bought, and by the long credit offered by the auctioneer; 
and having little doubt of being able soon to sell at an ad- 
vance, and thus make some profit by the transaction, he 
bid thirty dollars, and became its owner. He found a pur- 
chaser, as he had anticipated at a considerably higher sum, 
and might have done well pecuniarily, only that the man 
to whom he sold failed to pay and it was all lost. 

When the time approached for the payment of his note 
to the auctioneer, he was short about ten dollars, which lie 
seemed entirely unable to raise, and in his humble way of 
business was as much perplexed as many a man would be 
to procure one thousand times that amount. He was 
greatly disturbed and distressed at his situation, and often 
pondered it over, but without seeing any source of relief. 
Finally, he felt ability to pour forth his needs in the ears of 
that Heavenly Helper who regards the cries of his distressed 
children. This brought to his mind a sweet feeling of com- 
posure and relief. He knew not how the debt would be 
paid, but this no longer distressed him. 

Shortly after this, perhaps the same day, he heard the 
sound of wheels passing over a small bridge near his house, 
and looking out saw that it was one of his neighbors, a man 
of infidel principles who was very fond of arguing on religi- 
ous subjects. One of his children was among the scholars 
of our friend's little school : and a shade of fear crossed the 



212 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

teacher's mind lest the visit might be to find some fault re- 
specting the child's progress. On coming up the visitor 
addressed him about as follows . 

"Well, P , how are you getting along?" 

" Oh, tolerably well, I guess." 

" Here, take this," — handing him an envelope which con- 
tained ten dollars — the sum he was in need of. 

" Why ! you don't owe me this money." 

'•'That's all right, put it in your pocket," and then he 
rode away. 

Soni3 time after, as the same parties were conversing, 

P ■ asked his benefactor how he came to give him that 

money in the time of his distress, for he knew nothing of 
his peculiar nesd. The man replied that he had been to 
Philadelphia to collect some dividends, and as he was rid- 
ing along thinking of how differently persons were situated 
as to money matters, he remembered the poor teacher who 
had but little, and the thought came into his mind to give 
him ten dollars, and so he did. 

There are many testimonies to the watchful care of our 
Heavenly Father, and many proofs that his ear is open to 
the cries and prayers of his people who look to Him in the 
day of distress even as to outward things. The ancient 
declaration, "This poor man cried and the Lord heard him, 
and saved him out of all his troubles," is applicable to many 
ill the present day. 

This is illustrated by the following incident related not 
long since at a meeting, I believe in New York: 

A friend in business in this city told me a few days ago 
of an answer to prayer in his own case. Said he : " I had 
certain bills to meet, and tried every resource I had, but 
could not get the money. As the time approached, and my 
ability to meet my obligations seemed out of the question, 
1 went to God with my troubles, and poured out my soul in 
earnest prayer to Him to send me help. The morning of 
ihe day when my obligation became due arrived, but the 
help had not come. I went to my store, and soon after a 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 213 

gentleman came in whom I had known for some years, but 
not intimately. He greeted me kindly, and then asked 
after my business, and if I had plenty of funds, &c. I 
frankly told him the truth, and that I was quite short of 
funds for that day. He asked me how much I needed, and 
I told him. Without another word he drew a blank check 
from his pocket and filled it out for the sum I had named, 
and handed it to me, saying I could repay it when I be- 
came easy again." 

In the latter part of last century a Friend belonging to 
Wilmington Monthly Meeting, Delaware, was appointed on 
a committee set apart to pay a religious visit to its families. 
In reference to this he has left the following memoran- 
dum : — 

I believe it right to mention a circumstance that occurred 
some days before we set out on this family visit, and which 
brought me into deep concern, so that I thought I could 
not go. Being called upon for a sum of money veiy un- 
expectedly, I knew not where to obtain it, (although I 
made many efforts,) and to take it out of our small stock, would 
prevent us from going on with our business to much pur- 
pose. While I was under great concern and anxiety about 
it, a stranger who was not a member, spoke to me at the 
close of our meeting on thiswise: "I want you to come to 
my house in the morning about ten o'clock." I accordingly 
w r ent, when he said to me, "I have a sum of money which 
I have a mind you should have on loan, and that without 
interest." I was filled with admiration and gratitude, and 
could but look upon this as a providential act of favor to 
me. Surely I have cause reverently to bow before God ; his 
continued care and kindness toward me are great. He 
casts up a way, even marvellously so, where no way ap- 
peared. Surely thei*e is no occasion to distrust his all-suffi- 
ciency ; for He will not leave nor forsake those that put 
their trust in Him. My mind being thus relieved, I felt 
perfect liberty to proceed on the visit." 

The Christian must be prepared to sacrifice all his wordly 



214 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

prospects for the sake of peace of mind and the favor of his 
Creator ; and be willing to give up even life itself if the 
sacrifice is called for ; knowing assuredly that the joys of 
Heaven will abundantly compensate for all the trials he 
may meet with here. Yet the Lord is often pleased to open 
the way before his faithful children, even in worldly mat- 
ters, to their comfort and rejoicing. At a meeting in Eng- 
land Dr. Bernardo* related the following incident as an 
illustration of the effect of religion : 

A costermonger, who used to sell shrimps and periwinkles 
and whatever was in season, came to me and brought his 
three tin measures, and said : " I can't sell any more with 
these." Then he showed how each of them had a false bot- 
tom, so as not to hold more than half a measure. He said : 
" I don't know what to do. I can't use these ; and I can't 
make a living by giving honest measure." I thought it 
over, and said to him, "Put up this card:" "I have got 
religion, and I give honest measure ; but I charge more for 
it." So he did. For a few days, it went very hard ; but 
presently the women found out that it was better to buy of 
him and get honest measure ; and now he has a cart and a 
little shop of his own, and is doing very well. 

A laborer, who believed it wrong for him to work on the 
First-day of the week, was told by his employer on a 
Seventh-day evening, when he received his week's wages, 
that he must lie on hand the next morning to push forward 
some machinery that was to be sent to South America by a 
given time. He replied that he could not conscientiously 
work on that day. 

" That is nothing to me," said his employer. " You may 
stick to your principles, but my work must be done, and if 
you cannot do it I do not need your services any longer." 

"This blow," said the workman, "came upon me in the 

* A philanthropist of London, who has devoted his Hie principally to 
the education and care of the neglected children of that city. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 215 

dullest season of the year, and my wife and children were 
sick ; the shops were everywhere discharging their men. 
But I went out, and for eleven days diligently sought for 
work. On the evening of the last day, while crossing the 
ferry, I lifted my heart to God in prayer, saying, ' Now, 
Lord I have done all I can ; thou hast promised that my 
hread should be given to me, and that my water should be 
sure.' I went home and told my wife. The next morning 
came. After working-hours began, who should enter my 
home but my old employer, asking if I had any work yet. 
I answered, 'No. But I do not suppose you want me?' 
' Well,' said he, ' I think you were very stiff in your 
opinions, but I Avant you to take up that job where you left 
it.' I went to work, and discovered that he had placed a 
man in my position who had damaged the work, and set it 
back two full weeks. He was a drunkard and wholly un- 
reliable." The account was written five years after this 
occurrence, and during that interval, he had had constant 
employment, and had not been asked to work on the First- 
day of the week. 

It is a very comforting and soul-sustaining assurance which 
the true Christian is at times permitted to feel, that all things 
are under the control of his Heavenly Father ; and that 
whatever trials and afflictions may await him, yet the Lord 
can sustain him through them all ; and even make them con- 
duce to his highest welfare. A feeling of this kind animated 
the apostle when he queried, " Who can harm you, if ye 
be followers of that which is good ? " So, also, in another 
place, the same apostle expresses his confident conviction that 
neither heights nor depths, things present nor to come, shall 
ever be able to separate from the love of God which is in 
Christ Jesus, our Lord. 

He who is possessed with this holy faith can meet the 
difficulties of life with quiet confidence ; being mainly con- 
cerned lest in anything he should depart from the Divine 
guidance, and thus bring loss and suffering on himself; for 



216 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

he is assured that all things will work together for good to 
them that fear God. Though he has no reason to expect 
entire exemption from the ordinary accidents of life, — for 
one event happeneth to the righteous and to the wicked — 
yet there are many instances of preservation from danger, 
seen and unseen, in which the devout mind delights to trace 
the protecting hand of Him without whose notice not a 
sparrow falls to the ground. 

It is related of Bishop Gobat of Jerusalem, when en- 
gaged as a missionary to Abyssinia, that on one occasion, in 
a season of deep spiritual depression and gloom, he retired 
to a cavern and there poured out his heart in earnest sup- 
plication to the Lord. He remained in the cavern for some 
time. When he rose from his knees his eyes had been ac- 
customed to the darkness, and he saw that he had been 
there with a hyena and her cubs, which yet had not been 
suffered to attack him. 

On another occasion this animal was made the instru- 
ment of his deliverance from a violent death. While labor- 
ing among the wild tribes of the Druses, a messenger was sent 
from one of their chiefs, whose influence it was important to 
secure, with a message entreating Gobat to visit him. The 
latter, however, was unable to do so in consequence of in- 
disposition. A second messenger repeated the invitation, 
but still Gobat was unable to comply with the chief's wishes. 
A third messenger prevailed on him to set out, by the assur- 
ance that if he went at once he might spend the night with 
the chief and be ready to return in the morning, so as to 
join a ship about to sail for Malta, in which he was anxious 
to embark. On their journey the guides lost themselves 
in the mountain paths. Having at last, with some difficulty 
regained their route, they suddenly saw by the light of the 
moon that a hyena had laid itself down across the path 
exactly in their way. Th°y threw stones to frighten i£, 
when the animal sprang up and ran along the path which 
the party were to travel. The superstition of the natives, 
as well as their fear of the animal, prevented them from 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 217 

pursuing their journey, and saved Gobat from falling into 
the hands of those who had intended his destruction. 

In the journal of that eminent minister, Catharine Phil- 
lips,* who then resided in Cornwall, England, the following 
circumstance is related — at that time the English nation 
was at war with France and Spain. She says : 

Our quiet was disturbed in the Eighth Month, 1779, by 
an alarm of the French and Spanish fleets being off Fal- 
mouth Harbor. What the design was could not be known, 
but there they lay for some days, the wind not permitting 
them to go up the channel ; and, as they did not land, it 
was conjectured that their hostile views were turned towards 
Plymouth and the king's dock near that place. 

Soon after they had sailed up the Channel, being in a 
week-day meeting, with my mind retired to the Lord, under 
an exercise on account of the intended mischief, it run 
through it, "He sent forth lightning and scattered them." 
I think as we returned home from meeting the wind was 
rising; the sky soon lowered, and a terrible storm gathered, 
and discharged itself with fierce lightning, and tremendous 
thunder, and violent rain ; which continued through the 
greater part of the night, and indeed, the thunder con- 
tinued until the next evening. The fleets had, by the time 
the storm began, got near Plymouth ; and we heard that 
the commanders had deliberated about the business they 
had in view ; but the Lord, who holdeth the winds in his 
fists, discharged against them his terrible artillery so power- 
fully as to prevent their designs, and obliged them to sheer 
off from our coasts in a shattered state. 

He who turneth the hearts of men as a man turneth his 
water-course in the field, often effects his gracious designs by 
the secret but powerful impressions made by his Spirit on 
the minds, even of the rebellious. An interesting illustra- 
tion of this is mentioned by Robert Sutcliffe in his travels 
in America : 
. * See note, p. 44. 
19 



218 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

During the revolutionary war in America, a part of the 
American army lay near Gunpowder Falls Meeting-house, 
which, however, did not prevent Friends from holding their 
meetings for worship. Amongst the troops there was a 
colonel of dragoons whose hatred of Friends was raised to 
such a pitch of malice, that one day when traversing the 
country, lie came to the most cruel and extraordinary reso- 
lution of putting to the sword the Friends who were then 
collected at their place of worship, considering them as no 
better than a company of traitors. 

Drawing up his men near the spot, he ordered them to 
halt, in order to make arrangements for the execution of 
his dreadful purpose. 

At this moment an awful silent pause took place, in which 
he felt his mind so powerfully smitten with conviction, that 
he not only drew off his men, but conceived very favorable 
sentiments of the Society ; and continuing to yield to his con- 
victions, he afterwards joined in communion with Friends, 
and continued faithful to the principles of truth professed 
by them. 

The same author mentions that when in Philadelphia, he 
was entertained at the house of a Captain H., whom he had 
seen at Liverpool. He had been for some time commander 
of a ship in the Fast Indian trade, and had acquitted him- 
self so much to the satisfaction of his employers, that he 
was engaged to go out again, as commander of the Hindo- 
stan, in wnich very large property was embarked. The 
whole management of the outfit had been committed to his 
care, and everything having been made ready for the voy- 
age, the vessel was on the point of sailing. At this period 
he found his mind so oppressed at the prospect of the voyage, 
that he requested the owners of the ship to liberate him 
from his engagement of taking the command; but could 
assign no other reason than the oppression of his mind at 
the propect of the voyage before him. 

The owners at first seemed disposed to enforce his com- 
pliance ; yet after a little reflection they gave up the point, 
there being several well qualified captains to supply his 
place. The command of an Indiaman is a situation eagerly 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 219 

sought after, being considered the most profitable of any in 
the commercial line, as it affords opportunities of making- 
larger profits than any other trade. Another captain was 
accordingly appointed, and the Hindostan left Philadelphia, 
in appearance as fine a ship as had of late sailed from that 
port ; but she was never heard of after she left the Delaware 
Kiver. 

The quietness and composure with which the trusting 
follower of his Lord is often favored in times of danger, 
flows from his confidence in the Divine power and goodness. 
It is related of a pious man, who was at sea in a violent 
storm with his wife and children, that he seemed calm and 
composed amid the alarm which prevailed on board the 
vessel. His wife upbraided him with not manifesting that 
concern for his family which affection would lead to. He 
immediately left the cabin and returned in a short time 
with a drawn sword, and with a stern countenance pointed 
it at her breast ; but she, smiling, did not appear at all 
disconcerted or afraid. " What !" said he, " are you not 
afraid when a drawn sword is at your breast ?" " No !" 
she replied, " not when I know it is in the hand of one who 
loves me." " And would you have me," he answered, " to 
be afraid of this storm and tempest, when I know it to be 
in the hand of my Heavenly Father, who loves me?" 

Though the Lord often delivers those who trust in Him 
from dangers, seen and unseen, yet at times He permits 
them to partake of the cup of suffering. 

There is something very animating and encouraging in 
the records which have been preserved of his supporting 
presence with his faithful servants at such seasons, enabling 
them to bear with fortitude the trials to Avhich they were 
subjected, and oftentimes filling their souls with holy joy. 
William Dewsbury * who was imprisoned for many years 

* A native of Yorkshire, England. A zealous minister among Friends 
who spent many years in prison for his religion. Died, 1688. See Life 
in Friends'' Library, vol. 5, p. 213, etc. 



220 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

for his religious testimony, says, that he entered prisons as 
joyfully as palaces, and esteemed the bolts and bars of his 
prison-houses as jewels. 

How powerless are the efforts of persecutors against those 
who arc so clothed with the armor of Heaven ! These know 
that the Lord is able to make their sufferings the means of 
spreading his kingdom in the earth ; and that if their out- 
ward lives are taken, He can raise up many more witnesses 
to his blessed truth, They are made to rejoice in the feel- 
ing of the love of God, and to triumph in the glorious pros- 
pect of the crown immortal which awaits them. How 
beautifully does William Leddra* show forth the peace and 
comfort which he enjoyed, when under sentence of death at 
Boston, for going there in the service of his Lord, contrary 
to the orders of those in authority ! The day before his execu- 
tion, he wrote a letter to his friends in which he says: — 

"The sweet influences of the morning star, like a flood 
distilling into my innocent habitation, hath so filled me with 
the joy of the Lord in the beauty of holiness, that my spirit 
is as if it did not inhabit a tabernacle of clay, but is wholly 
swallowed up in the bosom of eternity, from whence it had 
its being. 

" Alas, alas, what can the wrath and spirit of man, that 
lusteth to envy, aggravated by the heat and strength of the 
king of the locusts, which came out of the pit, do unto one 
that is hid in the secret places of the Almighty ? or unto 
them that are gathered under the healing wings of the Prince 
of Peace? under whose armor of light they shall be able to 
stand in the day of trial. I have waited as a dove at the 
windows of the ark, and have stood still in that watch, 
which the Master (without whom I could do nothing) did 
at his coming reward with fulness of his love, wherein my 
heart did rejoice, that I might in the love and light of 

* An Inhabitant of Barbadoes. Put to death at Boston for his religion 
in 1661. SeeSewel's Historyofthe Quakers. Evans' Friends in the Seven- 
teenth Century, etc 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 221 

God, speak a few words to you, sealed with the spirit of 
promise." 

James Ren wick*, one of the Scottish martyrs, speaking of 
his sufferings for conscience' sake, says : " Enemies think 
themselves satisfied that we are put to wander in mosses 
and upon mountains ; but even amidst the storms of these 
last three nights, I cannot expi'ess what sweet times I have 
had when I had no covering but the dark curtains of night. 
Yea, in the silent watch, my mind was let out to admire 
the deep and inexpressible ocean of joy, wherein the whole 
family of Heaven swim. Each star led me to wonder what 
He must be who is the Star of Jacob." 

But though the Lord thus lovingly watches over his 
children and supports them in their distresses, yet the 
sensible evidence of his love is not always felt. The prom- 
ise is, " as thy day, so shall thy strength be," and though 
He extends help in the time of need, yet He is often pleased 
to hide his face, so that we may clearly see and feel how 
helpless we are in ourselves, and how entirely dependent 
on the supplies of Grace. 

In The Secret of the Lord, written by Anna Shiptonf, we 
find an illustration of this. She visited a rudely constructed 
cabin by the road side, where she saw an aged woman peel- 
ing potatoes, with an open Bible before her, into which she 
glanced from time to time as she proceeded with her work. 
After some conversation, the visitor spoke to a little grand- 
child, a girl of about eight years of age, and said to her, 
" Do you know that your grandmother is the daughter of 
a king?" and added, "The royal family are poor here." 
" No," was the reply of the old woman, " We are rich now, 
rich now. My Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, 
and every beast of the forest is his." But though then 
rejoicing in faith, it was not always so ; for at a subsequent 

*One of the Scotch "Covenanters." Born 1662. Executed 1688, for 
denying the King's authority, &c. "The last of the Covenanters who 
sealed his testimony on the scaffold." 

f See note, p. 15. 
19* 



222 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

visit the old woman was depressed in spirits. She had been 
ill, and in the time thus given for thinking, had come to 
the conclusion that she was not a child of grace; not at all 
like the good old martyrs. " I said to myself last night, 
when I could not sleep, ' would I die for God ? Would I be 
sawed in two, or burnt on a gridiron, or with fagots in the 
market-place, or be torn in pieces, for the faith that's in me ?' 
Xo !" repeated the old woman sorrowfully. Her visitor 
replied, " Has the Lord called on you to be burnt in the 
market-place, or to be torn in pieces? If so, be sure that He 
will give to you, as He did to his martyrs of old grace to 
witness for Him. Dying grace for dying hours. 'With- 
out Me, ye can do nothing.' " This view of the subject 
calmed her tossed mind. 

Dr. Gregory* relates that at the request of a poor but 
benevolent woman, he went to visit an indigent man in 
his neighborhood, who was greatly afflicted. On entering 
his cottage he found him alone, a pale, emaciated man, 
fastened in his chair by a rude mechanism of cords and 
belts. He was totally unable to move either hand or foot, 
having been for more than four years deprived of the use 
of his limbs, and suffering extremely from swellings at his 
joints. Dr. Gregory says, " As soon as I had recovered 
a little from my surprise at seeing so pitiable an object, I 
asked, ' Are you left alone ray friend in this deplorable 
situation?' He replied in a feeble tone of mild resignation, 
' I am not alone for God is with me !' I found that his wife 
had left on his knees, propped with a cushion formed for the 
purpose, a Bible lying open at a favorite portion of the 
Psalms of David. I sat down and conversed with him. On 
ascertaining that he had but a small weekly allowance 
certain, I inquired how the remainder of his wants were 
supplied? 'Why, sir,' said he, ' 'tis true as you say, seven 
shillings a week would never support us, but when it is 
gone, I rely upon the promise I find in this book ; ' Bread 
shall be given and his water shall be sure.' I asked him 

*Probably George <;re<_ r ory. who was born in Ireland in 17.54, and set- 
tled at first in London and afterwards in Essex, as a clergyman of 
the Church of England. He was the author of several theological and 
literary works, and died in 180S. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 223 

if he ever felt tempted to repine under the pressure of so 
long continued and heavy a calamity? 'Not for the last 
three years,' said he, ' Blessed be God for it ! for I have 
learned in this book in whom to believe ; and though I am 
aware of my weakness and unworthiness, I am persuaded 
He will never leave me nor forsake me. And so it is, that 
often when my lips are closed with lock-jaw, and I cannot 
speak to the glory of God, He enables me to sing his praises 
in my heart.' 

"This and much more did I hear during my first visit, 
and in my subsequent visits, I uniformly witnessed the like 
resignation. He died with a hope full of immortality. 
And gladly would I sink into the obscurity of the same 
cottage, gladly even would I languish in the same chair, 
could I but enjoy the same uninterrupted communion with 
God, be always filled with the same strong consolation, and 
always behold with equally vivid perception, sparkling before 
me, the same celestial crown." 

Ah ! this " hope full of immortality," how it sweetens the 
bitter cups of life, and gives the weary pilgrim courage to 
press on through all difficulties — nay, even enables him to 
rejoice in tribulation, and to reckon as a blessing everything 
that may help him to win the crown at the end of the race. 

An aged Christian had paused to rest himself as he 
trudged along under a heavy load on a warm summer day. 
An acquaintance had just accosted him, when a splendid 
carriage rolled past, in which a haughty man rode, whose 
whole appearance bespoke a life of luxurious ease. " What 
do you think of the Providence of which you sometimes 
speak ?" said the acquaintance. " You know that that is a 
wicked man ; yet he spreads himself like a green bay tree. 
His eyes stand out with fatness ; he is not plagued as other 
men ; while you, believing that all the silver and gold is the 
Lord's, serving Him and trusting in his providence, and 
toiling and sweating in your old age, get little more than 
bread and water. How can you reconcile this with Provi- 
dence." 

The aged saint looked at the questioner in amazement, 



224 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTI N S . 

and, with the greatest earnestness, replied : " Couple Heaven 
with it ! couple Heaven with it, and then !" Yes, that addi- 
tion sweetens many a bitter cup, and enriches many a poor 
lot. " For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, 
worketh for us far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory ; while we look not at the things which are seen ; for 
the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that 
are not seen are eternal." 

It is one of the many privileges of those who are honestly 
endeavoring to serve their Heavenly Father, that in times of 
perplexity and danger, they can appeal to Him for guidance 
and help ; and they are often favored at such times with 
a degree of confidence in the Lord, which calms the mind 
and frees it from that timidity or those anxious forebodings 
which would naturally arise. 

John Churchman* relates that when he was about eight 
years old his father sent him about three miles from home 
on an errand. He says : — " On my return, the colt which 
accompanied the mare I rode, ran away to a company of wild 
horses, which were feeding not far from the path I was in. 
My father bid me go back to the place with speed, that it 
might follow the mare home. I went, and found the horses 
feeding on a piece of ground where the timber trees had been 
killed perhaps about two or three years. Before I went 
among the dead trees, a mighty wind arose, which blew some 
down, and many limbs flew about. I stood still with my 
mind turned inward to the Lord, who I believed was able 
to preserve me from hurt ; and passed among the trees with- 
out fear, save the fear of the Lord which fills the hearts of 
his humble, depending children with love that is stronger 
than death. I found the colt, and returned home with great 
bowedness of heart, and thankfulness to the Lord, for his 
mercy and goodness to me." 

Some years ago a citizen of western North Carolina, who 
was called " Old David," was travelling along the borders 
of Missouri and Nebraska, at that time but thinly peopled, 

*See note p. 14. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 225 

and infested with highway robbers. He was urged by his 
neighbors to procure a couple of revolvers to protect himself, 
but he declined and went on his perilous journey, trusting to 
the Lord for protection. He had passed some dangerous 
places on the northern borders of Missouri, and was nearing 
the resort of one of the most formidable of the marauding 
gangs, headed by a notorious desperado named Stevens, when 
he met a man heavily armed. The first question he pro- 
pounded to Old David was, "Are you armed?" "Yes," was 
the aged Christian's reply, as he produced a pocket Bible. 
The man laughed outright at what lie considered the old man's 
folly, and with considerable ridicule in his tone, remarked, 
"If that is all the weapon you have, you had better be 
saying your prayers. The den of Jim Stevens is about ten 
miles further on, just where you will get by night, and he 
cares as little for bibles as a rattlesnake." They exchanged 
names, and each went his own way. 

Night had thrown her dark mantle around the earth, and 
the chilling blasts had begun to pierce the somewhat feeble 
frame of Old David, when he descried a light far down in 
a glen a short distance from the road. He was sure that it 
proceeded from a robber-den, but he must have shelter, and 
impelled by almost boundless faith, he directed his course 
thither. He halted when within a few paces of the door, 
and, being coarsely greeted by some uncouth, mean-looking 
men, was invited to alight. When he entered the humble 
habitation he saw significant looks pass between the inmates, 
and each chuckled to himself; and he knew that he was 
among a desperate, relentless and murderous clan of banditti. 
Nothing daunted, he occupied the proffered seat. Having 
partaken of a rough meal, which they furnished him at his 
request, he began conversation, which was continued till far 
in the night, when it was interrupted by the return of the 
captain Jim Stevens, and a couple of his comrades in crime, 
from a plundering raid. Stevens, advancing within a few 
feet of him, asked jeeringly, " Old man, aren't you afraid to 
travel in this section among the robbers, alone and un- 
armed ? " " No," was Old David's bold and fearless reply, 
as he again produced his Bible, continuing : " This is my 
weapon of defence. I always read a chapter before I retire. 



226 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

I know you are robbers, but I shall read and pray here to- 
night, and you must join with me." The roof of the shabby 
hut shook with loud, taunting peals of laughter at this ex- 
pression of the old man ; but nothing dismayed, he began. 
Gradually all became silent. When he had finished, he 
was conducted to a hard pallet, where he slept the live-long 
night undisturbed, and even free from haunting fears. When 
he arose in the morning, his hosts refused to receive aught 
for his entertainment during the night, and, instead, cordially 
thanked him for the interest he had manifested in their be- 
half. 

At the next settlement he learned of the death of the man 
that he had met on the road, who ridiculed his Bible as a 
weapon of defence. Old David prosecuted his journey suc- 
cessfully, and returned home safely. 

Though outward peril may seem very great, yet the Lord 
often enables his servants to adopt the language of the 
Psalmist, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom 
shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life ; of whom 
shall I be afraid?" He who can truly say, "One thing 
have I desired of the Lord; that will I seek after; that I 
may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, 
to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his 
temple ; " will have ground to hope for the fulfilment of 
the declaration, " In the time of trouble He shall hide me 
in his pavilion ; in the secret of his tabernacle, shall He 
hide me." 

When Nicholas Wain* and David Bacon, of Philadelphia, 
were crossing the ocean to England on a religious visit, a 
violent storm arose, so that the captain thought they must 
inevitably perish. After exerting himself to the best of his 
ability to save the ship, he thought it best to inform the 

*Born near Philadelphia in 1742. Practised law for some years, but 
resigned the profession and became a preacher in the Society of Friends. 
Went to England in ITS'! and 1795 on religious visits. Died in 1813. See 
Eminent Philadelphians and N. Kite"s Biographical Sketches of Friends. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 227 

passengers of their perilous situation, and of the fate which 
he thought awaited them. On entering the cabin, he found 
the two Friends engaged in pleasant converse. When he 
had communicated his message, his passengers remained 
composed and placid ; and Nicholas remarked, that he sup- 
posed it was as easy to travel to Heaven by water as by 
land. 

The vessel weathered the storm, the visit was paid, and 
they returned in safety to their native land ; but the quiet 
resignation to the Divine will of these good men made a 
strong impression on the mind of the captain. 

Thomas Story* mentions in his journal that when travel- 
ling on a religious visit in the Southern States of America, 
— " The company was taken with the greatest storm of light- 
ning, thunder and rain, that ever I remember I had been 
in before ; insomuch that the fire and water seemed to be 
commixed in their descending upon us, and the thunder so 
sharp and sonorous, and so near, as if it had been bombs 
splitting among us ; so that I, being the second in the com- 
pany, looked back several times to see if any were slain be- 
hind ; and it was attended with a stifling smell of sulphur. 
The storm abating a little, it was quickly renewed with 
equal show of terror ; so that we had it along for the space 
of about eight miles in the first, and three in the latter, in 
a very dreadful manner ; but the Lord preserved us from 
all harm. And though I was a little concerned at the first 
approaches of so terrible threatenings by an irresistible 
power, though from natural causes ; yet feeling the Creator 
near, who ordains it, and that His all-ruling authority was 
above and over it and all things, I was much comforted in 
Him, in the time of the most apparent danger : For which 
I was greatly thankful to the Lord, and for our preserva- 
tion ; for we observed that several great trees had been shat- 
tered to pieces by it ; and so we got safe to Robert Jordan's 
that evening. But another storm, w T ith much thunder and 
rain, coming on in the night, awakened the family, and 
some of them were much terrified, the thunder breaking out 
near the house ; but upon my retiring inward, I had great 
*See note, p. 111. 



228 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

peace in the good presence of the Lord, and His holy love 
ejected all fears." 

John Richardson,* in the course of his many travels by 
sea and land, was several times exposed to great danger; but 
preserved his presence of mind in a remarkable degree. He 
thus relates one peril which he encountered when crossing 
the James' River in Virginia : 

Now we came to the ferry over the river, being, as I re- 
member, five horses and nine people ; there was Jane Pleas- 
ants a public Friend, and her man servant who rid before 
her upon a great horse, and high in flesh ; and about the 
midst of the river, it*" being two miles over, he rose upon his 
hind feet, and flung himself upon the edge or gunnel of the 
boat, half into the river ; the fall of the horse, and the 
motion of the other horses thereupon, caused the boat to 
make such sallies that it took in water, and was very likely 
to sink : But before he could have time to rise again, or to 
make any more springs, I took several young men by the 
shoulders, and flung them upon his neck to keep him down, 
and told them, as fast as I could, why I did so. Now I had 
to deal with the ferryman, who was about to strip for swim- 
ming, and said we should all be drowned ; but for his part 
he could swim ; and was about to leap into the river, for he 
said, the boat would either break or sink. I told him, it 
was soon enough for him to swim, when he saw the boat 
either break or sink, and if he would not row, then I would. 
With much entreaty he took the oar again, and rowed us to 
the shore. But in our imminent danger, I looked over my 
tender friends (for so they appeared to me), and thought in 
my heart, what a pity it would be, if all these were drowned ! 
Yet the thought of my own drowning never entered my 
mind, until I was got over the river, which was a mercy to 
me, and a great means to keep out disorder and confusion, 
which commonly attend sudden surprises and frights, or 
else they make people dead-hearted and almost senseless." 
On this occurrence, he makes these judicious comments : 
" As I had now an occasion to observe, as well as in some 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 229 

imminent dangers I had seen before, where I happened to 
be, I find it an excellent thing to be, as much as we can, 
always ready; and by being frequently thinking upon death, 
it is not so surprising when it does come." 

In 1704 Thomas Story visited New England, at a time of 
great distress from the Indian war then raging. He says : 
"It was a dismal time indeed in those parts; for no man 
knew in an ordinary way, when the sun set that ever it 
should arise upon him any more ; or, lying down to sleep, 
but his first waking might be in eternity, by a salutation in 
the face with a hatchet, or a bullet from the gun of a merci- 
less savage ; who, from wrongs received, as they too justly 
say, from the professors of Christ in New England, are to 
this day enraged, as bears bereaved of their cubs, sparing 
neither age nor sex." Yet the faithful members of the Society 
of Friends, " trusting in the Lord, neither used gun nor gar- 
rison, sword, buckler nor spears ; the Lord alone being their 
strong tower and place of refuge and defence ; and great was 
their peace, safety and comfort in Him." 

After a meeting at Salisbury, he lodged at Henry Dow's 
on the edge of a great swamp or thicket, " where," he says, 
" there was neither gun, nor sword, nor any weapon of war, 
but truth, faith, the fear of God, and love, in a humble and 
resigned mind ; and there I rested with consolation." 

This family had recently met with a severe affliction, which 
is thus related. " The mother of Henry Dow's wife, being 
a Friend of a blameless life, and living in this same house 
with them, let in reasonings against their continuing in a 
place of so much apparent danger, and frequently urged- 
them to remove into the town, where the garrison was, that 
they might lodge there in the night for safety, as many 
others, and some Friends did ; which, her daughter could 
never be free to do, believing, that if they let in any slavish 
fear, or distrust in the arm and protection of the Lord, some 
very hard things would befal them; till at length her mother 
said to her, that if she could say she had the mind of the 
Lord against it (being a minister, though young), she would 
rest satisfied ; but nothing less than that could balance so 
rational fears in so obvious danger. But the young woman 
20 



230 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

being modest, cautious and prudent, durst not assume posi- 
tively to place her aversion to their removal so high ; but at 
length she and her husband complied with the mother, and 
they removed to the town, to a house near the garrison ; 
where the young woman was constantly troubled with fright- 
ful surprising fears of the Indians ; though, while at the 
house by the swamp, she was free from it and quiet. 

" But the mother, having left some small things in the 
house by the swamp, Avas going early in the morning to 
fetch them, and, by some Indians in ambush near the town 
in her way, was killed. And the same morning a young 
man, a Friend, and tanner by trade, going from the town to 
his work, with a gun in his hand, and another with him 
without any, the Indians shot him who had the gun, but 
hurt not the other; and when they knew the young man 
they had killed was a Friend, they seemed to be sorry for 
it, but blamed him for carrying a gun : For they knew the 
Quakers would not fight, nor do them any harm ; and there- 
fore by carrying a gun, they took him for an enemy. 

" When the town was alarmed, the young woman con- 
cluded her mother was slain (but it was not by shot, but a 
blow on the head), but did not go into the garrison, but 
took one of her children in each hand, and went with them 
into a swamp or thicket, full of reeds, near the place ; where 
all her tormenting fear left her, and she was then greatly 
comforted and strengthened in the presence of the Lord, and 
confirmed in her thoughts, that they should not have left 
their house for her mother's fears, though reasonable in 
human view. 

" The loss of the mother was much lamented by the son 
and daughter, and others ; but as soon as her body was in- 
interred, they went back with their little children to the 
same place by the swamp ; where I lodged with them and 
they gave me this relation." 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 231 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Faith. William Bray. The Crippled Man. The Timid Slave. Abra- 
ham Lincoln's Trust in God. Emancipation Proclamation. The 
Doctor taken at his Word. Divine Guidance. David Sands and 
Remington Hobby. George Withy's impression to go Home. John 
Knox Saved from being Shot. Matthew Warren's Wife. Elizabeth 
L. Redman and the Escaped Prisoner. Prepare for Death. A Lan- 
tern for the Footstep. Joseph Lybrand and his Stolen Child. Heal- 
ing a Breach. Thomas Waring. R. Bourdman Saved from Drown- 
ing. Dr. Guthrie and the Paralytic. Daily Bread. Widow Safl'ord. 
Changing Residence. John Richardson. Joseph Hoag. The Decayed 
Meeting House. Joseph Hoag and Slave Holders. Thomas Story 
and the Practice of Law. John Richardson and his Step-father. 
Frederick Smith and his Wife. 

The apostle Paul describes Faith as " the evidence of 
things not seen." By which description he may well be under- 
stood to refer to that conviction of the truth of the openings 
of the Holy Spirit in the heart of man, which gives him as 
positive an assurance of the certainty and reality of things 
yet distant and unseen, as if they were actually present and 
visible. The great object of the saints' faith is and always 
has been, as Robert Barclay shows in his "Apology," the 
voice of God speaking in the soul. That voice we are 
bound to listen to and obey in all things; whether it warns 
us against danger, points out the way in which we should 
walk, reproves us for our sins, or leads us to seek forgive- 
ness for our past transgressions through the mercy of God 
manifested in the atoning sacrifice of the Saviour of man- 
kind. 

If we obey this voice of God, which teacheth as never 
man taught, then we show our faith by our works. But we 
may hear it, and be convinced of its Divine authority, and 
yet refuse to submit to its directions ; thus manifesting that 



232 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

our faith is a " dead faith," which doth not profit us. By that 
living faith which is inseparably connected with obedience, 
the apostle assures us the saints of old wrought many 
mighty works ; and the same principle operates in man to 
the present day, producing the fruits of righteousness in all 
in whom they are brought forth. 

A striking example of this faith is found in the life of a 
poor Cornish miner named William Bray,* but in his neigh- 
borhood familiarly called Billy Bray. He had been a reckless, 
profane, drunken man for many years ; but was converted 
to righteousness without much outward help, by yielding to 
the visitation of Divine Grace. He became as conspicuous 
for his piety and devotion to the cause of Christ, as he had 
before been for his service to the world, the flesh and the 
devil. He was a man of much originality of mind, quick- 
ness of wit, and decidedly eccentric. Many amusing inci- 
dents are preserved which illustrate these traits ; but with 
them all, there was a sincerity and earnestness in his 
devotion to religion, which made him useful in the circle 
in which he moved. 

The following anecdotes show the undoubting faith with 
which he relied on the Divine openings in his mind. He 
says :— 

" There was Justin T , who Avas with me in Devon- 
shire; we were companions in drunkenness and came home 
to Cornwall at the same time. I was converted before he 
was; and when I told my comrades what danger the wicked 
were in, and where they would go if they died in sin, they 
would persecute me and call me a fool. But J. T. used to 
say, ' You shall leave that man alone and say nothing to 
him, for I knew him when he was a drunkard, and now he 
is a good man ; I wish I was like him.' Then my heart 
went out after J. T. One day when at work in the field, 
I knelt down to pray for him. TJip Lord spoke to my mind, 

■- See note, p. 166. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 233 

1 1 will save him soon. 1 When I next saw him I told him I 
had good news for him, for while I was out in the field pray- 
ing for him, the Lord told me he should be converted soon. 
And so he was. Shortly after his conversion he was taken 
ill. I saw him many times in his illness, and he told me 
he was happy in Jesus, and going to heaven to praise God 
forever." 

On one occasion, in his capacity as captain-dresser, William 
Bray engaged to dress a quantity of ore, and had to employ a 
number of young persons. But the general opinion was, that 
the lot was all but worthless, and for a time it was a great 
trial to Billy as there would be nothing for him, and worse 
still, nothing for those under him. " Why, the people will 
say, there's that ould Billy Bray, an ould Bryanite, an 
ould rogue, he has cheated the boys and maidens of their 
wages. A pretty Christian he!" But Billy wrestled and 
labored in prayer, until he got the assurance that the Lord 
was on his way. (Dan. x. 9.) " I will bring thee through," 
the Lord said to him one day while he was praying; to 
which gracious word he at once answered, " I believe it, 
Lord, I know Thee wost (Thou wilt) ; praise the Lord, 
amen, glory. I don't care now what the devil says. If 
Thou tell me, that Thou wilt bring me through, I believe 
Thou wilt." And his foot once placed upon the rock, he 
was not to be moved. The struggle was again and again 
renewed, but to all suggestions, from whatever quarter they 
came, his answer was, " I don't care whether the stuff is 
worth anything or not. The Lord hath told me He will 
bring me through, and I believe Him." And did the Lord 
disappoint His servant ? or leave " him at last in trouble to 
sink?" No, no! On the "sampling" day the "stuff" was 
found to be more valuable than any person expected, en- 
abling Billy to pay the boys and girls their wages, his own, 
and then have five-pounds left for himself. 

At one time he had a child seriously ill, and his wife 
feai-ed it would die. She wished Billy to go to the doctor, 
and get some medicine. He took eighteenpence in his 
pocket, all the money there was in the house. On the road 
he met a man who had lost a cow, and was then out beg- 
20* 



234 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

ging for money to buy another, whose story touched 
Billy's heart, and to him the money was at once given. He 
said afterwards, " I felt after I had given away the money 
that it was no use to go to the doctor, for I could not have 
medicine without money, so I thought I would tell Father 
about it. I jumped over a hedge, and while telling the 
Lord all about it, I felt sure the ' cheeld ' would live. I 
then went home, and as I entered the door, said to my wife, 
' Joey, the cheeld's better, isn't it ?' ' Yes,' she said. ' The 
cheeld will live, the Lord has told me so,' " was his answer, 
and the child soon got well. 

During his wife's long illness, which ended in death, he 
" had many blessed seasons while praying with her, and 
promises from the dear Lord." At one time the words were 
so deeply impressed on his mind, "She is mine forever," 
that tears came into his eyes. At another time he was 
greatly comforted by the conviction, inwrought into his 
heart by the power of the Holy Ghost, that he himself, his 
wife and family, should be saved. Therefore he said, "I 
had no reason to doubt of my wife's going to heaven ; never- 
theless the devil often tempted me that, because I was not 
home with her when she died, it was not well with her. 
But the devil could not make me believe it. Since the dear 
Lord has settled the matter, the old king of the bind* does not 
tempt me that she is not in heaven. When the dear Lord 
speaks to His children's hearts, He speaks the truth; He 
is a God of truth, and all who love Him are children of the 
truth." 

The editor of the Earnest Christian mentions meeting with 
a friend who had been an active, stirring man, but who had 
lost one foot and part of the other, and was then on his way 
tn a place where he could be provided with artificial limbs. 
He had gone to see him with some anxiety as to how the 
misfortune was being endured. But the greeting of the 
patient was cordial and pleasant, and his tone full of peace 
and joy. During a two hours' visit, he conversed not 
on the affliction but the blessings that had come from this 
visitation of Providence — though he was in the prime of 
life and had a family to support. Faith in the goodness 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 235 

and care of a Heavenly Father was sufficient to keep the 
mind quiet and peaceful. 

G. M. Howe relates the following incident, which he 
heard from the lips of an eye witness. 

Some years ago, while travelling upon a steamer on one 
of the Southern rivers, the captain stopped at a landing to 
receive a score or more of slaves who were to be shipped 
down the river. When the poor, frightened creatures were 
all gathered upon the deck the captain opened a trap door 
and ordered them all to descend. The less timid ones ut 
once obeyed, but presently a middle aged negress was led to 
the ladder and told to follow her companions below. She 
gazed shrinkingly for a moment down into the darkness, 
and then starting back exclaimed, "Oh, massa, I can't go 
down there, it's so dark !" The more they urged her to de- 
scend the more reluctant she seemed to be to go. And to 
their solicitations, commands and threats would reply, "I 
can't go, it's so dark down there." So genuine was her 
grief and fear that many hearts were touched with sympathy 
for her. After standing with her hands folded meekly over 
her breast for a few minutes, her lips moving as if in prayer, 
she looked up and said, "Yes, I'll go; there is no place too 
dark for the Lord Jesus," and suiting the action to the 
words she stepped cheerfully down the ladder into the dense 
darkness. 

Somewhere this poor slave woman had learned to love 
and trust the blessed Saviour, and when her faith in Him 
had gained the mastery over her physical fear, a sweet calm 
filled her troubled heart, and she was willing to go any- 
where, even into this dark hold of the steamer that was to 
bear her far away from all she held dear in life, because she 
felt that Jesus would be present with her. 

This dependence on a Higher Power appears to have 
been a prominent trait in the character of Abraham Lin- 
coln, President of the United States. His biographer says 
of him: — 

He believed in God, and in his personal supervision of 
the affairs of men. He believed himself to be under his 



236 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

control and guidance. He believed in the power and 
ultimate triumph of the right, through his belief in God. 
This unwavering faith in a Divine Providence began at his 
mother's knee, and ran like a thread of gold through all 
the inner experiences of his life. His constant sense of 
human duty was one of the forms by which his faith manifested 
itself. He recognized an immediate relation between God 
and himself in all the actions and passions of his life. 

This constant reference to the Divine will, and depend- 
ance on an overruling Providence, is well illustrated by a 
conversation which took place during the interval between 
his nomination for the office of President of the United States 
and his election. Abraham Lincoln was well known to be 
opposed to slavery, and to any extension of the system. Its 
advocates were greatly excited, and were then plotting those 
treasonable measures which involved this country in a costly 
and bloody war. Lincoln knew he was entering upon a 
path full of danger, overshadowed with doubt and fear ; and 
he deeply felt the burthen. But he believed that, he was 
an instrument in the hands of God for the accomplishment 
of a great purpose. He felt that in the struggle before him 
he ought to be supported by the Christian sentiment and 
the Christian influence of the nation. 

Newton Bateman, Superintendent of Public Instruction 
for the State of Illinois, occupied a room adjoining and 
opening into the Executive Chamber. Frequently this door 
was open during Lincoln's receptions ; and throughout the 
seven months or more of his occupation, Bateman saw him 
nearly every day. Often when Lincoln was tired, he closed 
his door against all intrusion, and called Bateman into his 
room for a quiet talk. 

On one of these occasions, in the course of the conversa- 
tion, he dwelt much upon the necessity of faith in the Christ- 
ian's God, as an element of successful statesmanship, especi- 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. Z&7 

ally in times like those which were upon him, and said that 
it gave that calmness and tranquillity of mind, that assur- 
ance of ultimate success, which made a man firm and immo- 
vable amid the wildest excitements. After further reference 
to a belief in Divine providence, and the fact of God in 
history, the conversation turned upon prayer. He freely 
stated his belief in the duty, privilege and efficacy of prayer, 
and intimated, in no unmistakable terms, that he had sought 
in that way the Divine guidance and favor. 

The effect of this conversation upon the mind of Bateman, 
a Christian gentleman whom Lincoln profoundly respected, 
was to convince him that Lincoln had, in his quiet way, 
found a path to the Christian standpoint — that he found 
God, and rested on the eternal truth of God. As the two 
men were about to separate, Bateman remarked : " I have 
not supposed that you were accustomed to think so much 
upon this class of subjects. Certainly your friends generally 
are ignorant of the sentiments you have expressed to me." 
He replied quickly : " I know they are. 1 am obliged to 
appear different to them ; but I think more on these subjects 
than upon all others, and I« have done so for years; and I 
am willing that you should know it." 

His biographer makes this comment. " This remarkable 
conversation furnishes a golden link in the chain of Lincoln's 
history. It flashes a strong light upon the path he had 
already trod, and illuminates every page of his subsequent 
record. Men have Avondered at his abounding charity, his 
love of men, his equanimity under the most distressing cir- 
cumstances, his patience under insult and misrepresentation, 
his delicate consideration of the feelings of the humble, his 
apparent incapacity of resentment, his love of justice, his 
transparent simplicity, his truthfulness, his good will toward 
his enemies, his beautiful and unshaken faith in the triumph 
of the right. There was undoubtedly something in his 
natural constitution that favored the development of these 
qualities ; but those best acquainted with human nature will 
hardly attribute the combination of excellencies which were 
exhibited in his character and life to the unaided forces of 
his constitution. The man who prayed, who thought more 
of religious subjects than of all others, who had an undying 



238 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

faith in the providence of God, drew his life from the highest 
fountains." 

The dependence for success on Divine help which has been 
referred to, as an important element in the character of 
Abraham Lincoln, is further illustrated after his election, by 
the touching remarks he made to his fellow-citizens of 
Springfield, Illinois, who collected at the railroad station 
as he was leaving home to enter on the duties of President 
of the United States. 

" My friends," said he, " no one not in my position, can 
appreciate the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people 
I owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a quar- 
ter of a century. Here my children were born, and here 
one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall see 
you again. A duty devolves upon me which is greater, 
perhaps, than that which has devolved upon any other man 
since the days of Washington. He never would have suc- 
ceeded, except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which 
he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without 
the same Divine aid which sustained him ; and on the same 
Almighty Being I place my reliance for support; and I 
hope you, my friends, will pray that I may receive that 
Divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with 
which success is certain." 

This was so unlike the usual language of a politician, 
that those who knew not the simple and earnest truthful- 
ness of the man, knew not how to understand it. 

His biographer says his religion " was one which sympa- 
thized with all human sorrow ; which lifted, so far as it had 
the power, the burden from the oppressed ; which let the 
prisoner go free ; and which called daily for supplies of 
strength and wisdom from the Divine fountains. He grew 
more religious with every passing year of his official life. 
The tender piety that breathed in some of his later state 
papers is unexampled in any of the utterances of his prede- 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 230 

cessors. In all great emergencies of his closing years, his 
reliance upon Divine guidance and assistance was often 
extremely touching. ' I have been driven many times to my 
knees,' he once remarked, 'by the overwhelming conviction 
that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that 
of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.' On 
another occasion, when told that he was daily remembered 
in the prayers of those who prayed, he said that he had 
been a good deal helped by the thought ; and then he added 
with much solemnity : ' I should be the most presumptuous 
blockhead upon this footstool, if I for one day thought that 
I could discharge the duties which have come upon me since 
I came into this place, without the aid and enlightenment 
of One who is wiser and stronger than all others.' " 

When the time came for issuing the Emancipation Proc- 
lamation, which converted millions of slaves into freemen, 
and Abraham Lincoln was detailing to his Cabinet, the 
reasons which influenced him in believing that to be the 
right time, he added in a low and reverent tone, " I have 
promised my God that I will do it." These last words were 
hardly heard by any but Salmon P. Chase * who sat nearest 
to him. He inquired, " Did I understand you correctly, 
Mr. President?" Lincoln replied : " I made a solemn vow 
before God that, if General Lee should be driven back from 
Pennsylvania, I would crown the result by the declaration 
of freedom to the slaves." 

The Second Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln is a 
remarkable document. It thus refers to the two parties in 
the war then raging, — 

" Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, 

♦Afterwards appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
United States. Died in 1873. 



240 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

and each invokes his aid against the other. It may- 
strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assist- 
ance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's 
faces ; but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The 
prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither 
has been answered fully. The Almighty has his own pur- 
poses. ' Woe unto the world because of offences, for it 
must needs be that offences come : but woe to that man by 
whom the offence cometh.' If we shall suppose that Ameri- 
can slavery is one of these offences, which in the providence 
of God must needs come, but which, having continued 
through his appointed time, He now wills to remove, and 
that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as 
the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we 
discern therein any departure from those Divine attributes 
which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? 
Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty 
scourge of war may soon pas< away. Yet, if God wills that 
it continue until ail the wealth piled by the bondmen's two 
hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, 
and until every drop of blond drawn with the lash shall be 
paid with another drawn with the sword ; as was said three 
thousand years ago, so still it must be said, ' The judgments 
of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.' " 

The Parlor Magazine relates a pleasant anecdote in which 
the unhesitating trust of a child opened the heart of the 
man on whose word he relied. 

When Doctor Byron was one day passing into the house, 
he was accosted by a very little boy, who asked him if he 
wanted any sauce, meaning vegetables. The doctor in- 
quired if such a little thing was a market man. "No, sir; 
my father is," was the prompt answer. The doctor said, 
" Bring me some squashes," and paid him the money. In a 
few moments the child returned with the change. The doc- 
tor told him he was welcome to it, but the child would not 
keep it, saying his father would blame him. Such singu- 
lar manners in a child attracted his attention, and he began 
to examine the child attentively. He was evidently poor ; 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 241 

for liis jacket was patched with almost every kind of cloth, 
and his trowsers darned with so many colors it was difficult 
to tell the original fabric, but very neat and clean withal. 
The boy quietly endured the scrutiny of the doctor while 
examining his face. At length he said, " You seem a nice 
little boy; won't you come and live with me, and be a 
doctor?" 

" Yes, sir," said the child. 

"Spoken like a man," said the doctor, dismissing him. 

A few weeks passed on, when one day Jim came to say 
there was a little boy with a bundle down stairs, waiting to 
see the doctor, and would not tell his business to any one 
else. 

"Send him up," was the answer, and in a few moments 
he recognized the boy who sold him the squashes. He was 
dressed in a new, though coarse, suit of clothes, his hair 
nicely combed, shining shoes, and a little bundle under his 
arm. Deliberately taking off his hat, and laying it down 
with his bundle, he walked up to the doctor, saying, " I 
have come, sir." 

" Come for what, my child ?" 

"To live with you, and be a doctor," said the child with 
the utmost naivete. 

The first impulse of the doctor was to laugh immoder- 
ately; but the imperturbable gravity of the little fellow 
rather sobered him as he recalled, too, his former conversa- 
tion ; and he silently felt he needed no addition to his family. 

" Did your father consent to your coming ?" he asked. 

" Yes, sir." 

"What did he say?" 

" I told him you wanted me to come and live with you 
and be a doctor, and he said you were a very good man, 
and I might come as soon as my clothes w r ere ready." 

"And your mother, what did she say ?" 

"She said Doctor Byron Avould do what he said he 
would, and God had provided for me. And," said he, " I 
have on a new suit of clothes," surveying himself, " and here 
is another in the bundle," undoing the kerchief and display- 
ing them, wdth two little shirts white as snow, and a couple 
of neat checked aprons so carefully folded it was plain none 
21 



242 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

but a mother would have done it. The doctor's sensibilities 
were awakened to see the undoubting trust with which that 
poor couple had bestowed their child upon him, and Buefa 
a child! His cogitations were not long. He thought of 
Moses in the bulrushes, abandoned to Providence, and 
above all he thought of the child that was carried into 
Egypt ; and that Divine Saviour had said, " Blessed be little 
children ;" and he called for his wife, saying, " Susan, dear, 
I think Ave pray in church that God will have mercy upon 
all young children." 

"To be sure we do," said the wondering wife: "and what 
then ?" 

"And the Saviour said, 'Whoever receiveth one such lit- 
tle child in my name, receiveth me.' Take this child in his 
name, and take care of him." 

From this hour the good couple received him to their 
hearts and home. It did not then occur to them that one 
of the most eminent physicians and best men of the age 
stood before them in the person of that child, nor that he 
was destined to be their staff and stay in declining age, — 
a protector to their daughter, and more than a son to them- 
selves. All this was at that time unrevealed ; but they 
cheerfully received the child they believed Providence had 
committed to their care, and if ever beneficence was re- 
warded, it was in this case. 

There is no more certain truth, or of more practical im- 
portance in our course through life, than that " The Spirit 
of the Almighty giveth understanding." Especially is this 
important as it refers to the enlightening influence of the 
Spirit of Christ, graciously bestowed on all who will receive 
and obey it, to guide them into and in the way of peace, 
and out of spiritual darkness. Some may be disposed to 
question its universal extension, when they f^ee so many of 
mankind walking in the way of evil, and apparently destitute 
of any conviction that they are doing wrong ; but these 
cases are only illustrations of the truth of the scripture de- 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 243 

claration : " Light has come into the world, but men loved 
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." 

This Divine guidance in the way they should go, through 
the impressions on the mind of the Holy Spirit, is the ex- 
perience of every true Christian of all religious denominations ; 
and is continually known by those who are walking in 
that highway cast up for the ransomed and redeemed of the 
Lord. It was the experience of the patriarchs, prophets 
and saints of olden times ; and it is the especial mark of the 
more perfect dispensation under which we live ; for it was 
prophesied of it, that the Lord would pour out his Spirit 
on all flesh. 

Besides this general guidance, which all continually need, 
there is abundant evidence that the Lord at times gives to 
his servants such an insight into the thoughts of others, and 
such impressions as to the path that He would have them 
pursue as may be needful to enable them to perform the 
services which He requires of them. 

Among the anecdotes of David Sands,* is one recorded 
in his journal which shows that the thoughts of others are 
at times revealed to the Lord's servants. 

Many years ago, David and a companion were visiting 
in Maine, then a newly settled country, and remained for 
several days at one place. A man of some note in that 
place, named Remington Hobby, remarked to his wife, 
"These Quakers seem to be respectable people, and I do 
not think they are very well accommodated where they are 
staying ; I have a mind to invite them to our house." She 
approved of it, and he accordingly gave them an invitation, 
which was accepted. On arriving at his house, instead of 
entering into familiar conversation, the Friends were drawn 

*A minister in the Society of Friends, residing at Cornwall, New 
York, who labored extensively in the Gospel in various parts of the 
United States, in Great Britain, France, Germany, and other parts of 
Europe. Died in ISIS, aged seventy-two years. 



244 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

into silence. This being new to their host, he did not un- 
derstand it, and at length concluded it must be because 
they did not like their entertainment in being received in 
the kitchen. He thought, perhaps if I make a fire in the 
best room, and take them there, they will like it better 
and be more sociable. Accordingly he did so; and still 
David was drawn into silence, and not disposed to enter 
into conversation, to the great disappointment of Reming- 
ton, who began to feel sorry that he had taken so much 
pains to accommodate them, saying to himself, "Either they 
are fools, or else they think I am one." 

As this thought was passing through his mind, David 
turned to him and said, "Art thou willing to be a fool ; art 
thou willing to be a fool for Christ's sake?" and went on 
preaching to him until he was so fully convinced, that he 
joined himself to David and his companion, going with and 
assisting them in their journey ; and was soon brought forth 
as a fellow laborer with them in the work of the ministry. 
So devoted in spirit did he become, and so diligent in his 
Labors for the Master, that, in after years, he said, his own 
house was but as an inn, in which he might rest himself oc- 
casionally. 

The closer our communion with our Heavenly Father, 
and the more attentively we watch to know the revelations 
of his will, the more quick we will become in seeing the 
path in which He designs that we should walk. AVhile 
careful to avoid mistaking the mere suggestions of the imagi- 
nation for the pointings of duty, we may, through faithful- 
ness, become " quick of discernment in the fear of the Lord." 
These pointings will often be found to direct us to things 
from which we naturally shrink ; but the experience of the 
willing-hearted is in accordance with what William Penn* 
says : " Christ's cross is Christ's way to Christ's crown ; " 

* Eminent as a minister, statesman and author. The founder of 
Pennsylvania. Born 1044, died 171s. See Life in Friend*' Library, voL 
5, p. 23, etc. 



ENCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 245 

and that which is done from a sense of duty is often fol- 
lowed by a sweet and peaceful feeling. 

There are many instances of the safety and comfort to 
be found in following the pointings of the Divine finger. 
When George Withy,* of England, was in this country, he 
was accompanied in a part of his travels by the late Thomas 
Evans, to whom he related the following incident : 

He was travelling alone, paying a religious visit in Wales. 
He had been at a meeting in the morning, and was going to 
another to be held in the afternoon. As he was riding 
along, he felt a sudden impression that it would be right to 
turn round and go directly home. So unexpected and sud- 
den an impression caused some hesitation ; and he stopped 
and weighed the thing in the best manner he could. The 
result was, that he must go home, and as quickly as he 
could. He did so, and travelled all night, reaching home 
in the morning. Here he found that a niece had been 
drowned about the time the impression was made on his. 
mind. His wife had a family of children ; and his presence 
and assistance were almost indispensable. 

John Knox,f the Scottish reformer, is said to have been 
saved from death by attending to an internal admonition. 
He was accustomed to sit at the head of his table with his 
back towards a window. One evening, in obedience to a 
feeling which covered his mind, he would neither take that 
seat himself, nor suffer any of his family to do so. Whilst 
they were sitting round the table, a bullet, evidently fired 
with the intention of killing him, passed through the win- 
dow, grazed the back of the unoccupied chair, and buried 
itself in the foot of the candlestick. 

Matthew Warren, a pious man, was exposed to persecu- 
tion during the reigns of Charles II. and James II., of Eng- 

* An English minister, who travelled in America on a religious visit 
and died in 1837, aged seventy-four years. 

f A noted Seoth Reformer. Born 1505. Died 1572. A man of great zeal, 
fervor and courage. It was said over his grave," Here lies he who 
never feared the face of man." 
21 * 



24f > I N C 1 1> B N T B A N I> REFLECTIONS. 

land, on account of his religious principles. At one time 
he was remarkably preserved from the hands of those who 
sought to seize him, by a strong impression made on the 
mind of his wife, that unless he left the house in which he 
was then sheltered before a particular hour, he would be 
taken prisoner. Under this feeling, she sent a messenger to 
him with a letter, stating her desire that he would be at his 
own house at the hour specified, or else he might never see 
her more. Supposing her to be ill, he immediately took 
leave of his friend, and set homewards. 

From the summit of the first ascent, he looked back to- 
wards the house he had left, and found it surrounded by the 
persons who were seeking him. 

In a letter written by the late Joseph Kite, in 1852, I 
find the following anecdotes of Elizabeth L. Redman/'' of 
Haddonfield, which furnish additional illustrations of the 
safety and importance of walking in the light: 

" On the 24th (of Tenth Month) our dear, innocent and 
loving friend, Elizabeth L. Redman, departed this life in her 
sixty-seventh year. She appeared much in the simplicity in 
her ministerial labors; yet she was often very remarkably 
led in humble obedience to heavenly monitions, where human 
reasoning would have led astray. Dost thou remember the 
case of Clough the murderer, who was confined in Mount 
Holly jail? After lie was condemned, a concern came upon 
Elizabeth's mind to visit him ; and she laid the prospect 
before Friends at Haddonfield, who encouraged her to at- 
tend to her concern, and nominated two individuals to 
accompany her. "When they came to take her, the pros- 
pect had been suddenly closed, and she dared not move. A 
few days after, the concern clearly revived, and the Friends 
were sent for and the visit paid ; which was relieving to her 
own mind, and tendering to that of the convict. The re- 
markable part of it was, that when the concern passed from 
her view, the prisoner had broken jail and escaped ; and 

* A minister in the Society of Friends, who resided at Haddonfield, 
N. J. Born 1785. Died 1852. Bee Memorials of Deceased Friendsot Phila- 
delphia Yearly Meeting. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 247 

when it recurred, he had just been retaken and confined. 
Had she moved on in the dark, the visit to Mount Holly 
would have been fruitless, and cavillers might have had 
room to say, she was under a delusion. Poor Clough said, 
that if any one had exhibited such a religious concern for 
his soul's Avelfare before, he had not been in that condition. 
" Somewhat similar in regard to the necessity of attend- 
ing to the pointings of the finger of Truth, was a circum- 
stance Sarah Hillinan related at our house. Elizabeth L. 
Redman, when on a visit in Bucks County, was passing 
along the road to meeting, when she felt a warning given 
her to a man who was working by the road-side. She put 
it by for the present, under the impression that she should 
be late at meeting. The message to him was, ' Prepare for 
death.' After meeting she went to Ruth Ely's to dine, with 
the omission of duty pressing hard on her. She asked one 
of the domestics if she knew such a man describing him. 
But she did not. Elizabeth then went into the kitchen to 
inquire of the cook, who, from the description, remembered 
the man. Elizabeth then bid her to tell him from her, to 
prepare himself for death for his clays were nearly num- 
bered. The cook probably promised, but failed to deliver 
the message ; and the man shortly after was thrown from 
a load of boards, and his neck broken ! How important 
that we do our individual duty, nor trust to others to do it 
for us." 

A little incident related by the wife of a sea captain 
illustrates the manner in which the Almighty often leads his 
children, showing his obedient followers each successive step 
which they are to take, and enabling them to pass in safety 
over many dangers. 

" "We were on shipboard," said she, " lying in a Southern 
harbor, and we were obliged, first, to make our way ashore. 
The waves were rolling heavily. I became frightened at 
the thought of attempting it, when one came to me saying, 
' Do not be afraid : I will take care of you.' He bore a 
peculiarly shaped dark-lantern, only a single ray of light 
being emitted from a small, circular aperature. ' Now,' he 



248 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

said, ' take my hand ; hold fast, do not fear. Do not look 
about you, or on either side of you, only on the little spot 
lighted by my lantern, and place your footsteps firmly right 
there.'' I heard the rushing of the waters, and was still con- 
scious of fear ; but by looking steadily only where the light 
fell, and planting my footsteps just there, not turning either 
to the right or the left, clasping firmly the strong hand, the 
danger was overcome and the shore reached in safety. The 
next day, my kind guide said, ' Would you like to see the 
way by which you came last night ? ' Then he showed me 
where our vessel had been lying, and the very narrow plank 
( just a single one) by which we had reached the shore. He 
knew that, had I turned either to the right or to the left, I 
should in all probability have lost my balance, and gone over 
into those dark waters ; but by ' holding fast,' and treading 
just where the light fell, all danger would be averted." 

One of the most blessed promises from the Lord to his 
people in ancient times, is that in which it is declared that 
He would put his law into their minds and write it on their 
hearts. The pure law of the Lord condemning all iniquity 
is written on the hearts of all through the inshining of the 
Light of Christ, so that if man will sincerely and humbly 
wait for, observe and follow its teachings, he may be led out 
of all sin, and enabled to walk acceptably before God. This 
communion with his Creator is a blessed reality; and is as 
an anchor to the soul of the Christian in times of trial. As 
he grows in religious experience, he learns to depend more 
and more fully on the teaching of the Spirit, and becomes 
more quick of discernment ; so that he is less likely to be 
led astray by the suggestions of his own imagination, which 
he might be in danger of mistaking' for the leadings of the 
Spirit. 

These Divine intimations are often extended for the guid- 
ance and help of the Lord's children even in their outward 
affairs, A striking instance of this is seen in the following 
narrative of Joseph Lybrand. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 249 

Jospeph Lybrand* was a minister of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, and in the summer of 18 — , had charge of a 
congregation in the upper part of the city of Philadelphia, 
his home being in Crown Street, above Race Street. On a 
certain First-day morning, he crossed the river to Camden, 
N. J., having engaged to preach both morning and evening 
to a Methodist congregation there, intending to spend the 
time between the two services at the house of one of his 
brethren in that town. 

Shortly after dinner he told his host that he must return 
to Philadelphia. On being asked why? he answered that 
he did not know why, only that he must return. His friend 
Avas quite grieved to hear him say so, and expostulated with 
him, urging that he had promised to preach at both the 
services ; that the congregation that would meet in the 
evening would be greatly disappointed, and that he would 
be ashamed to tell the people that the minister felt that he 
must return to the city, but could give no reason for his 
conduct. 

By this time the sense of duty had become clearer, and 
J. Lybrand answered that though he knew not the object 
of his return, he was well satisfied it was a Divine intimation 
that he must not, and could not, resist. 

Leaving the house of his friend, he directed his steps 
towards the Market Street Ferry, for by it he was accus- 
tomed to cross the river. Soon he found that that was not 
the right path, but that he must walk a long distance, ex- 
posed to the scorching rays of the sun, to the Cooper's Point 
Ferry, which would land him at Callowhill Street. Won- 
dering, but satisfied to follow Divine leading, wheresoever 
it might carry him, in due time he stepped ashore at Cal- 
lowhill Street wharf, and walking up the hill, as he crossed 
Water Street, the cries of a little child fell on his ear. 

*A Methodist minister. Born in Philadelphia in 1798, and died in 
1845. The notice of him in the Cyclopedia of Methodism says, " His name 
will remain a sweet savor to thousands of our Israel throughout the 
States of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania." His 
last words were, " Last year I had such a sweet and precious com- 
munion with God; and now I close my eyes to sleep, hoping that 
sleeping or waking, my thoughts will be of Him and with Him.'' 



250 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

Musing upon the wondrous way in which God was leading 
him, he was so absorbed in contemplation that for a mo- 
ment he gave no heed to the cry, 'twas but for a moment, 
the next instant the earnest sympathy of his nature, and his 
intense love for little children, were fully aroused by the 
piteous crying that plainly told of no common sorrow. 
Turning quickly to learn the cause, he saw a great rough 
man leading, or rather dragging, a little boy of about three 
years of age, who was crying bitterly, and exerting his puny 
strength to retard his steps. On asking why the child was 
in such distress, the man let go of him and ran away, and 
then J. Lybrand, to his horror and to his great joy, saw 
that the wretched looking little creature, so begrimed in 
person and clothing, was his own son, whom till this moment 
lie had failed to recognize. The leading was now plain, 
and the blessing of obedience manifest. 

As to how the little fellow came to be in the street — it 
seems that early in the afternoon his mother went up stairs, 
leaving him to play below, and finding the gate unfastened 
he went out. How far he went before he was kidnapped 
Avas never known, but he could not have been lono- away, 
for Ins mother had missed him but a little while before his 
father brought him home. 

The whole life of the Christian is a continued experience 
of Divine guidance ; for it is by the Light of Christ that he 
is enabled to distinguish good from evil, and know how to 
choose the one and reject the other. And this Light not 
only points out the evil, and warns man to forsake it, but it 
guides his steps in the accomplishment of those services and 
duties which he is called upon to perform. This is illustrated 
in a narrative which a person gave of the manner in which 
he was helped to heal a breach of friendship which had 
greatly troubled him. He said : — 

One day I had some difficulty with one of my neighbors, 
and he let in hardness towards me, so that he would not 
speak when we met, and he would not shake hands with 
me. I felt very much cast down and distressed in my mind 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 2A1 

both day and night; so I cried inwardly to the Lord for 
deliverance out of this state, and that the unity and good 
feeling between us might be restored. One day, as I -was 
sitting in meeting, waiting in silence on the Lord, He put 
it into my heart to go to the man as soon as meeting ended ; 
so, before I had spoken to any one, or had eaten or drank, 
I went in the faith, and found my neighbor alone in the 
barn, threshing. He threw down his flail and looked very 
much surprised. We both stood still for some time, until 
tears began to run down my face ; he then shed tears also. 
I told him of the great distress I had felt day and night. He 
said it had been the case with him too. 80 we made friends, 
and the unity was never again broken, for afterwards, when 
we met, we always had good feelings. 

The following incident in the experience of Thos. Waring, 
a Friend of Leominster, England, was related by a clergy- 
man of the Church of England, who had a high respect for 
the character of the good old man. As he sat one afternoon, 
in his shop, among his work people, it was strongly impressed 
on his mind that he must set off directly to the neighboring 
town of Ross. It was winter time ; the days were short, and 
the weather none of the best. The idea seemed so strange to 
him that he tried to get rid of it, but he could not free his 
mind of what appeared to be his duty. It was impressed 
upon him like a mission, and he was one of those pure, 
simple and obedient spirits, that once knowing the will of 
God, he must implicitly obey it. 

He rose from the seat where he was at work, and gave 
orders that his horse should be immediately saddled. It 
was four o'clock in the afternoon, and thirty miles to Ross. 
He stopped at Hereford to bait his horse, and, in order to 
lose no time, fed it with oatmeal mash, and resumed his 
journey. Is was late in the night when he approached Ross, 
and still his business there remained unknown to him. In 
passing over the Wye, however, as he entered the town, he 
cast his eyes upward, and saw in the darkness of the night, 
and amid the tall, dark houses, a light in an attic window, 
and immediately it was revealed to him that there lay his 
mission, and that in going there all would be made plain. 



252 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

He lost not a moment, but riding directly up to the door, 
knocked loudly. No one came, and while waiting, he gave 
his horse in charge to a boy in the street, bidding him take 
it to a brother Quaker's, one George Dow, and say that the 
owner of the horse would sleep at his house that night. Any 
one but a simple man full of faith, as old Thomas Waring 
was, would have feared lest the boy should run off with the 
horse, but the boy conveyed both the horse and the message 
faithfully. 

After waiting long at the door of the house, a young 
woman opened it, and timidly asked, " what he pleased to 
want ?" He told her in all simplicity that he did not know, 
but that if she would listen for a few moments to what he 
had to say, perhaps she herself might explain it. She in- 
vited him in, and he related to her the way his mind had 
been impressed, remarking in conclusion, " And having told 
this, I can only repeat that I do not know for what I am 
come." 

The young woman was much affected, and wept bitterly. 
"Sir," said she, " I can tell you for what you are come; it 
is to save me. I was gone into that upper room with a firm 
intention of putting an end to my life, which has become 
very miserable. Nothing would have prevented me from 
committing suicide had you not come. God has sent you. 
I now see that I am not altogether forsaken or abandoned 
by Him." " Thou art not forsaken of God, indeed," said the 
good man, himself deeply affected, as he went on to pour 
hope and consolation into her sorrowful spirit. 

Many are the remarkable incidents recorded, where the 
impressions fastened on the minds of individuals have been 
instrumental in saving themselves or others from impend- 
ing dangers. One of these refers to K. Bourdman, who 
was travelling from Mould to Parkgate in Flintshire, 
Wales. 

After riding sonic miles, he asked a man if he was on the 
road to that place, who replied, "Yes, but you will have 
sands to pass over, and unless you ride fast you will be in 
danger of being enclosed by the tide." It then began to 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 253 

snow so fast that he could hardly see his way. He, how- 
ever, got to the sands, and pursued his journey over them, 
till the tide came in and surrounded him on every side, so 
that he could neither proceed nor turn back ; and to ascend 
the perpendicular rocks was impossible. In this situation, 
he says — "I commended my soul to God, not having the 
least expectation of escaping death. In a little time I per- 
ceived two men running down a hill on the other side of the 
water; and by some means they got into a boat and came 
to my relief, just as the sea had reached my knee as I sat on 
my saddle. 

" They took me into the boat, the mare swimming by 
our side till we reached land. While we were in the boat, 
one of the men said, 'Surely, sir, God is with you.' I an- 
swered, 'I trust He is.' The man replied, 'I know He is,' 
and then, related the following circumstance : ' Last night 
I dreamed that I must go to the top of the hill. When I 
awoke, the dream made such an impression on my mind 
that I could not rest. I therefore went and called on this 
man to accompany me. When we came to the place, we 
saw nothing more than usual. However, I begged him to 
go with me to another at a small distance, and there we 
saw your distressed situation.' " 

I find in a manuscript volume of a friend, an account 
given by E. J. Way, of his own narrow escape from injury 
or death. He had been in attendance at a camp-meeting, 
and left it on the morning of the last day. He says: 
"About two miles out from the ground I met the stage 
which was going up to the camp for persons who were to 
leave. Having been up all the preceding night, and labor- 
ing hard for several days, I was both tired and sleepy. As 
the horse was going along steadily, I fell into a doze. How 
long I slept I know not, but I was greatly oppressed with a 
sense of danger. Rousing from sleep, I discovered myself 
in a narrow piece of road, with a high embankment on each 
side ; but everything was safe. I looked to see what had 
so strongly excited my fears, but found nothing. Happen- 
ing to look behind me, I saw the stage which had passed 
awhile before, coming back. The vehicle was empty, and 
22 



254 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

the horses were running furiously. The road was too nar- 
row for them to pass without tearing my sulky to pieces. 
Escape seemed impossible, but suddenly turning my horse, 
I drove him up the steep bank just in time to save my life. 
I could not but lift up my heart in gratitude to God, who 
had so strangely warned and timely delivered me." 

Dr. Guthrie* narrates an experience of his own which 
furnishes an additional illustration of this subject. He was 
in the habit of occasionally calling upon a poor widow, who 
was helpless from paralysis, and was tended by a very duti- 
ful daughter who worked in a neighboring flax mill, toiled 
hard and lived sparingly, that she might help to maintain 
her mother. Before leaving the cottage for her work, she 
was in the habit of heaping up the refuse of the mill in the 
grate and kindling it. She placed her helpless mother in a 
chair before the fire, and as this fuel burned slowly away, 
the old women was kept comfortable till her return. Dr. 
Guthrie says : — 

" It happened one day I took my way down the wind- 
ing dell to the cottage of the old woman, which stood in its 
garden embowered among trees. But having met a pa- 
rishioner with whom I had some subject of interest to talk 
about, I called a halt, and sitting on a bank of thyme, we 
entered into conversation. Ere the subject was half ex- 
hausted, the widow rose to my recollection. I felt some- 
how I must cut it short and hasten on my visit. But the 
idea was dismissed and the conversation continued. How- 
ever, it occurred again and again, till, with a feeling that I 
was neglecting a call of duty, as by an uncontrollable im- 
pulse I rose to my feet and made haste to the cottage. 
Opening the door a sight met my view that for a moment 
nailed me to the spot. 

" The erection of mill refuse which had been built from 
the hearth some feet up the open wide chimney, having its 

* Probably Thomas Guthrie, a distinguished minister of the Free 
Church of Scotland. Born 1800. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 255 

foundation eaten away, had fallen, and precipitating itself 
forward, surrounded the helpless paralytic with a circle of 
lire. The accident took place some minutes before I en- 
tered. She had cried out, but no ear was there to hear her, 
nor hand to help. Catching the loose refuse about her, on 
and on, nearer and nearer the flames crept. By the time I 
had entered it had almost reached her, where she sat mo- 
tionless, speechless, pale as death, looking down on the fire 
as it was about to seize her clothes and burn her to a cinder. 
Ere it caught I had time, and no more, to make one bound 
from the door to the hearth-stone, and seizing her chair and 
all in my arms, to pluck her from the jaws of a cruel fiery 
death." 

To his narrative, Dr. Guthrie appends the following re- 
flections: "By what law of nature, when I lingered on the 
road, was I moved, without the remotest idea of her danger, 
to cut short against all my inclinations, an interesting con- 
versation, and hurry on to the house, which I reached just 
in the nick of time? One or two minutes later, the flames 
had caught her clothes and I had found her in a blaze of 
fire. Be it mine to live and die in the belief of a present 
and presiding God !" 

In the winter of -1845, in one of the towns of New Eng- 
land, a youthful mother and her little children were brought 
into great straits. The husband and father was from home, 
and their stock of food was nearly exhausted, but a few 
ounces of Indian meal being left. The night was dark, the 
snow deep, and the paths unbroken. In her distress the 
poor woman offered to God the prayer for " daily bread," 
which our Saviour taught his disciples." 

In another part of the city a young lawyer of pious char- 
acter was sitting in his room. His mind seemed to be 
brought into sympathy with those in distress, and his 
thoughts turned to the dwellers in the cottage of this pray- 
ing mother. He knew nothing of their special needs, and 
he had never spoken with them, but their case seemed to 
lie upon his heart, and a secret impulse urged him to go to 
their relief. He sallied out into the snow, purchased five 
loaves of bread at a baker's, and, making his way to their 
house, knocked at the door. It was opened by the woman, 



256 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

to whom he handed the loaves, and then departed, with a 
peaceful mind. 

Not only were her present wants thus relieved, but the 
remembrance of this deliverance often acted as a stimulus 
to her faith in subsequent times of trial, strengthening her 
to believe that the Lord would still be mindful of her, hear 
her petitions, and send help in his own time and way. 

A somewhat similar instance is related of a widow wo- 
man named Safford, residing in the town of Mercer, Maine, 
who was left, in the year 1832, with three children to pro- 
vide for, by the death of her husband, without other means 
of support than the labor of her own hands. Of course she 
had the ordinary trials and privations of poverty to endure. 
When winter came, a severe storm, occurring near the 
close of a week accompanied with bitter cold, prevented 
her from securing her usual store of supplies ; and First- 
day morning found her with only wood enough to make a 
single fire. When the fire was nearly burned out, the 
daughter asked her mother if they should not bury in the 
ashes the last remaining brand, and so preserve it for a lit- 
tle while. The mother said "no;" and expressed her belief 
that the Lord would certainly supply their needs. 

That same morning, a Christian woman, the wife of a 
Methodist minister, who lived not far distant, retired alone 
in her room to hold communion with the Lord. As she en- 
deavored to draw near to Him in spirit, her mind turned 
towards her neighbor Safford, with a feeling to send her 
some wood. It seemed so strange to be hauling Avood on 
that day, that she dismissed the thought as a freak of her 
imagination, and sat down to read the Bible. But she 
found no life or comfort in its perusal, and the inward 
monitor still seemed to direct her to send some wood to the 
widow Safford. She hesitated no longer, but directed the 
boys to load the hand sled with wood and drag it through 
the snow to her neighbor's, saying, " I don't know as she 
wants any, but I must send it." Before the last stick was 
consumed on the widow's hearth, the boys ai'rived with 
their load, bringing enough to last them until more could 
be procured. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 257 

The Psalmist, in referring to the superintending care 
which the Lord exercises over his trusting children, makes 
this encouraging assertion : " In all thy ways acknowledge 
Him, and He shall direct thy steps." This is applicable to 
all our movements, both in temporal and spiritual matters. 
As to the latter, we all admit it, and generally in some 
degree attempt to act upon it; but in our outward affairs 
we are far more deficient in faith, and less disposed to submit 
them to the Divine judgment and disposal; and hence we 
often become involved in difficulties, which might have 
been avoided if there had been less self-will and self-confi- 
dence, and more of a humble seeking to the Lord for 
counsel. 

These thoughts are connected at the present time, in the 
mind of the writer, with the removal of residence from one 
neighborhood to another — a matter in which serious mis- 
takes are sometimes made. Some years ago a valuable 
friend lived in the compass of a country meeting, where he 
was esteemed by his friends, and was useful both as a 
citizen and as a member of religious society. In these 
respects, probably few in his own vicinity excelled him. 
Some family changes presented an inducement to move 
away from this sphere of usefulness, and he parted with his 
farm and took his family to reside in another neighborhood. 
The meeting he had left sustained a loss by his removal, 
but that to which he went was not benefited by his coming. 

This case was an illustration of what Grattan,* the Irish 
orator meant, when he said that an oak at fifty ought not 
to be transplanted. He retained the esteem of his friends as 
a worthy man, but for many years, and in successive re- 
movals, he did not take root in the different meetings and 

An Irish statesman. Born 1750. Died 1820. Distinguished for purity 
of life, and eloquent advocacy of the rights of his country. 

22* 



258 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

circles where he went. Thus what ought to have been the 
most useful period of his life, was comparatively wasted ; 
and he could scarcely be considered as having been har- 
nessed again into religious service till the decline of life, 
when strength and vigor were failing. 

His example has often been remembered as showing the 
need there is to consider well, before leaving the field of 
usefulness in which any have been placed. 

Yet there are cases, where the way clearly opens for 
change, and where it is plainly the duty of individuals to 
follow on in the way cast up before them, relying on that 
Divine Power which can enrich them both with outward 
and with spiritual blessings. 

There are many who can bear witness as to the reality of 
the guidance furnished by a wisdom higher than that of 
man, to those who sincerely seek it, and follow its directions 
even when they lead (as is often the case), in a way con- 
trary to the natural inclinations. 

John Richardson,* relates, that when about twenty-seven 
years old, having for a time some release from the active 
religious service in which he had been engaged, he wished 
to settle more closely to business. He says : " Upon seek- 
ing unto the Lord to know what place I might now settle 
in, though my great inclination was for Whitby, yet it 
sounded as in my ear, Bridlington, Bridlington is the place 
to settle in ; and in the cross, I repaired thither, and settled 
for some time, keeping a little shop, and mended clocks and 
watches, as I had done for several years past at times. It 
was of good service my settling there, for the Lord began 
to work mightily, especially amongst the young Friends, so 
that in a few years many had their mouths opened in testi- 
mony for the Lord, and a fine spring of heavenly ministry 
was in that Monthly Meeting, the like I have not known 
in the like bounds (for it is but a small Monthly Meeting, 
and hath been so ever since I knew it). For Truth did so 

* See note, p. 77. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 259 

mightily prosper, and Friends grew so in the ministry, that 
it became a proverb, that Bridlington was become a school of 
prophets." 

When Joseph Hoag* was about to settle in life his mind 
was turned towards the small meeting in Little Nine Part- 
ners, in New York ; but he yielded to the suggestion that if 
he went there he would not prosper in business, and so took 
a farm in another neighborhood. For several years he met 
with much trouble, and little success, though he labored 
hard. At length, he says : " After living through many 
and varied trials, with an almost constant scene of conflict, 
and being permitted to get my mind into the quiet, I entered 
into deep searching of heart, to know the cause of all these 
troubles so continually coming upon me. The Lord in his 
own time gave me to see, that if I had sought to Him for 
directions, instead of listening to others' contrivings, I might 
have been settled in Little Nine Partners for many years, 
and been in my right place, where the Lord's blessing would 
have been upon me ; but as I had neglected his pointings 
therein, He had withheld his blessing. 

" Having striven so long that I had neither money nor 
friends to help me, it now appeared clear that if I would 
give up and go into the new country, I would then be 
blessed. It so settled on my mind that I told it to my wife, 
and opened my prospect to my own and my wife's relatives. 
Keeping steadily to the prospect, it brought my wife under 
deep concern. It was not long before she told me, that she 
saw clearly there was a good farm for us in that country, 
and was willing to go with me, ever after remaining steady 
in the prospect ; and I now believe Ave are on the very spot 
presented to her view. When I opened it to my friends for 
their consent, they utterly denied me any liberty to move. 
In this situation they kept me for more than two years, 
which did not jostle or move me, feeling easy as having 
done all on my part, without feeling hard towards my 
friends ; fully believing they would have to give it up. 
The Lord had shown me that I had much to suffer for my 
own neglect, so that I dared not murmur." 

* See note, p. 100. 



260 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

After a time, the way opened for them to move, and 
they settled in Vermont, where they witnessed a prosperous 
change, and soon became comfortably established. 

It requires care that people do not imagine that every 
idea that may be suggested to their mind is a Divine impres- 
sion ; and, on the other hand, that they do not reject those 
feelings which are mercifully given for their guidance and 
help. Even the humble and sincere soul may for a time be 
in doubt what step to take where there is danger in either 
course ; and this very doubt, and the conflict of mind it in- 
volves, may be part of that humbling discipline which our 
Father in Heaven sees to be good for it to pass through ; 
but in due time it will experience the fulfilment of the 
promise, " Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for 
the upright in heart." 

That the Lord's servants are sometimes led in a manner 
for which they do not see an adequate reason, is shown in 
an anecdote preserved of George Richardson and Solomon 
Chapman. When they were engaged in a religious visit in 
Ireland, George felt a strong impression that it would not 
be best to hold a meeting in the meeting-house in a certain 
neighborhood, but that he must visit Friends in their fami- 
lies, going from house to house. As there was no known 
reason why a meeting should not be held, Solomon rather 
objected to its omission, because then other persons not 
members would be passed by, who often attended the meet- 
ings of Friends. But George's judgment was clear, and 
Solomon yielded. It was believed afterwards, that if the 
meeting had been held, the house could not have borne the 
pressure of the people, but would have fallen upon them. 
The roof was very heavy, and some of the timber much 
decayed, so that it fell on the evening of a Seventh-day, 
when there was no unusual wind or other exciting cause, 
the evening before the. time when Friends were expecting 
to meet in it, to hold their usual First-day meeting. 

The following incident is told by J. D. Hampton, who 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 2G1 

listened to Joseph Hoag's relation of it, in his father's house 
in 1841. 

When Joseph Hoag* was on a religious visit in the South- 
ern States, he felt it right to have a meeting in a neighbor- 
hood where he was a stranger and Friends were not very well 
known. A full and attentive audience assembled. 

When the meeting had settled into stillness, it was soon 
made manifest to him that he should speak of slavery and 
the evils thereof. At this he was almost ready to flinch, as 
he had good reason to believe that most of his audience 
were slaveholders. 

While thus pondering the subject, and knowing the mag- 
nitude of it, he had some misgivings whether he should be 
able to treat the subject as it should be treated, and asked 
his Lord and Master to excuse him from speaking on that 
subject, lest he might not be able to do it justice, and the 
truth suffer by it. But the query came immediately, " have 
I ever required anything at thy hands that I did not enable 
thee to perform ; " to this he could not say nay. So he con- 
cluded that it would be safest for him to watch the point- 
ings of his Master in this matter, as on other occasions. At 
the proper time he arose to his feet and took the subject of 
"Slavery and the Evils thereof" as his text. After the 
meeting closed, many of the slaveholders gathered about 
him, giving him an invitation, here and there, to dine with 
them ; and, as he could not go with them all, he accepted 
the hospitality of one, to whose home the others followed to 
the number of twelve or fifteen. After they were all seated 
in his stately parlor, Joseph began to talk upon the subject 
on which he had preached, continuing his conversation for 
about thirty minutes, not giving any one an opportunity to 
say anything; and, just as he closed, the landlord made his 
appearance and announced that dinner was ready. All re- 
paired to the dining room save one, a lawyer. The landlord 
gave him a pressing invitation, saying there was provision 
for all now in waiting. The lawyer replied : " I can't eat 
with that preacher." " Why ? " asked the landlord. The 
lawyer said there was something about him that he couldn't 
* See note, p. 100. 



262 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

comprehend. " I was at his meeting, as you know, and did 
not like his subject, nor the manner in which he treated it, 
and so I concluded I would trap the old man by watching 
his discourse and taking note of such points as I thought 
he would not be able to answer. I followed him here for 
that purpose. To make it more effectual I have made 
known my intentions to no one. Here I have twelve ques- 
tions arranged respecting his sermon, and while we were all 
in this room he has answered them. I can't eat with him ; 
there is something about him I cannot comprehend." 

There are many evidences that the Almighty does conde- 
scend to influence the minds of his children so as to guide 
them even as to the outward business in which they shall 
engage. Thomas Story* relates that he Avas educated for 
the practice of law, but after he had been divinely visited, 
and taken up a fixed resolution to seek first the kingdom of 
Heaven and the righteousness thereof, he says : 

" I clearly perceived the practice of the law, and to be 
frequently in the suits and contests of the world, would be 
inconsistent with Divine peace in my own mind, expose me 
to many tempations, and confine me so as that I could not 
follow the Lord in that way wherein I understood He was 
leading me, and proposed to bring me forward ; that is, not 
only in sanctification and justification for my own salvation, 
but also in a public ministry of that holy and powerful 
Word of life ; by which the Lord of his own free will and 
grace had called me ; and to that end, I knew was working 
in me qualifications suiting his own purpose thereby : And 
therefore my secret concern was how to get rid of that great 
and dangerous obstruction ; well knowing it would very 
much oppose my father's views. 

" Duty to the Almighty, and the will and terrene views of 
my natural parents becoming opposite, I remained not long 
in suspense what to do ; for, as through grace I had been 
enabled to take up the cross of Christ in confessing his holy 
name, in the dispensation of God to his people at that time ; 

*See note, p. 111. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 263 

so, by the same grace, I was likewise enabled to undergo 
the displeasure of my father, to close my eyes from all 
wordly views, and to stop my ears forever from hearkening 
to any preferments there ; and being furnished with a full reso- 
lution in my mind to decline the practice of the law, though 
the only thing designed as a means of life, accordingly the 
next persons who came to employ me in business of that 
kind, I refused in my father's presence ; and told them in 
his hearing, that I should not undertake business of that 
kind any more." 

Thomas Story's subsequent experience justified his trust 
in his Heavenly Father; for in the intervals between the 
journeys which he performed in spreading the gospel tidings 
of salvation, he found such openings for business as appear 
to have supplied his needs. 

There are few subjects on which people are more disposed 
to indulge in pleasantry with one another than that of mar- 
riage ; and yet there is perhaps none more serious and im- 
portant in its results, reaching through time and even into 
eternity ; none in which there is greater need to know that 
we have Divine guidance and sanction. 

John Richardson's* father died when he was quite young 
and his mother inclining to marry again with one who was 
of a diiferent religious persuasion and was considered to be 
Avealthy, John felt uneasy with the prospect, and told her, 
"he was afraid she had too much of an eye to what he had," 
" but if she thought to augment our portion in so marry- 
ing, the hand of the Lord would be against her, and a blast- 
ing or mildew would come upon even that which we had got 
through industry and hard labor, and what the Lord had 
intended to have blessed to us, if Ave kept faithful to the 
Truth, and contented ourselves with our present conditions." 

Notwithstanding John's caution, the marriage took place, 
and the result was as he had foreseen. The difference in 
their religious views was destructive to the family har- 
* See note, p. 7T. 



264 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

moily ; and his father-in-law would not permit him to re- 
main in the house, unless he would give up the attendance 
of his religious meetings and conform to his own manner of 
worship. John had been very faithful and diligent in his 
attention to business, and appears to have received no wages 
for his labor, being still a minor ; but this availed not. He 
thus describes his expulsion from home: 

" Notwithstanding I pleaded with my father to let me 
stay until I could hear of a place, he would not, though I 
was scarce fit for service, being almost like an anatomy 
(as the saying is), so that most who knew me said I would 
pine away in a consumption ; but turn out I must, and did, 
though I was weak, poor and low in body, mind, pocket and 
clothes ; for I think I had but twelve pence in my pocket, 
and very ordinary clothes upon my back. Thus I took my 
solemn leave of the family, with my heart full, but I kept 
inward to the Lord, and under Truth's government ; many 
tears were shed in the family, especially by my poor mother, 
when I left them ; my father said little, but appeared like 
one struck with wonder, to see so much love manifested to- 
ward me by the family, and so much wishing that I might 
not go away. But out I came on the great common, where 
I had had many solitary walks, but none like this, for this 
reason, that I knew not where to go." 

When his step-father died, he left by his will five shillings 
to John, which was all the share he received of the family 
estate ; confirming his prediction, that the marriage would 
bring a blasting and mildew upon even that which they had 
gotten through hard labor. John Richardson makes the 
following judicious comments upon these occurrences : 

" I write this partly, that all who do marry, may take 
special heed that it be done with great caution, and under 
due consideration, and the Lord sought to in it, that it may 
be done in his counsel, and not only nominally but truly in 
his fear ; and then no doubt but it will be well with both 
husband and wife ; and being equally yoked, such will not 
only be meet and true helpers in all things belonging to 
this life, but more especially in things appertaining to the 
world that is to come, and the good of the immortal soul, 
which to the faithful people of the Lord is of great value. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 265 

Oh, how happily and peaceably do such live together in 
the Lord, as they keep to that which thus joined them." 

Frederick Smith* relates in his autobiography, that he 
married young in life, when he was far from living in 
obedience to the Divine will. As years passed on, he was 
brought to submit himself to the Grace of God; ami feel- 
ing drawn towards the Society of Friends, joined with them 
in religious fellowship. This was very distasteful to his 
wife, who seemed much alienated from him and carried 
her opposition so far as to threaten to leave him altogether. 
His prudent behavior in some degree softened her feelings, 
though it failed to bring about that unity which was desir- 
able. Whilst matters remained in this state, his wife was 
compelled on account of her health to take lodgings out of 
London, and Frederick remained in town to attend to his 
business. He says : " One day, while serving a customer 
in the shop, I felt the sweet influence of heavenly love in a 
remarkable degree, and, at the same time, such a powerful 
union with my dear wife, that I was overcome with the sen- 
sation ; and having dismissed the customer as speedily as I 
could, I went up stairs to give vent to my feelings, where 
I continued the greater part of the day. Under this in- 
fluence I felt an inclination either to speak or write to her, 
on the subject of a nearer religious fellowship. I was not 
however in haste to put it in practice, but waited till the next 
day, that I might, when my mind became more settled, 
judge of the propriety of such a step. The next day, on 
sitting down before Him by whom I wished to be rightly 
instructed, I again felt the same sweet impression ; when, 
without hesitation, I wrote a few lines to her, expressive of 
what I felt. I took the letter that evening, and soon found 
that the Master had been there before me. She read what 
I had written several times over, but said nothing. After 
a time, I ventured to begin the conversation, though in 
much fear and brokenness, and I told her all that I had 
felt. She was much affected at the relation, and asked me 
at what time of the preceding day it was, that I felt the 
impression I spoke of; I replied that the clock struck 

* Born in London 1757. Died 1823. A minister in the Society of Friends. 
See T. Chalk's Autobiograp/ticcd Narrations. 
23 



266 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

eleven as I was going up stairs, on leaving the shop. She 
said it was very remarkable, for just at that time she felt 
the same impression towards me, which had continued with 
her ever since, much to her comfort and consolation. We 
now mingled our tears of real joy together, under a sense of 
the gracious dealings of our Heavenly Father to our poor 
souls ; and we had to admire that our present union had not 
been effected by any human means, but by the power of the 
Lord alone, He having given my wife to me. Great, I believe, 
were our desires that we might in no respect know a separa- 
tion from each other, but that we might so walk before Him 
as to experience a continuance of his love and regard. I 
believe we both considered this extraordinary manifesta- 
tion of Divine love, through which we were so sweetly 
united, as our spiritual marriage ; for what we had before 
known of love, fell far short of that which we now felt to- 
wards each other — nav, appeared as nothing in comparison 
of it." 



PART IV. 

SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED BY 
THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Concern for Others. Restore thy Brother. John Churchman and his 
Drowsy Friend. William Baily. Elizabeth Bathurst. Job Scott. 
Christian Woman and her Drunken Brother. Joseph Hoag and 
the Elder. Reproof for Swearing. The Moorish King and the Sack 
of Earth. Frederick of Prussia and the Mill. James Naylor. An- 
drew Fuller. The Swiss Colporteur. Mary Swett. John Wesley 
and the Swearers. Satan's Hook. A Box on the Ear. The Motion 
was in Himself. Bishop Simpson and Brother Swank. Illustra- 
tions. The Two Mines. The Queen Has Sent for Him. Geraldine 
Hooper and the Dress. The Soldier who Did Not Intend to Fight. 
The Drowsy Committee Woman. The Remedy that Cures. John 
Churchman and the Watch. Food in Winter. The Potter's Care. 
The Polished Clam Shell. Rowland Hill and the Pigs. The Snuf- 
fers. The Pilot. 

When the Divine power and spirit of Christ has been 
allowed to operate on the mind, and to turn the sinner from 
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, not 
only do there appear in him the fruits of repentance, 
conscientiousness, self-denial, loving-kindness, humility, and 
other Christian graces and qualities ; but he finds duties to 
perform and services to be done for Him, under whose 
government he has now come. So closely connected are 



268 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

these subjects — of character and of labor — that a separation 
between them may be regarded as only theoi*etical ; and 
they might have been grouped together under the Second 
Division of these illustrations — many of the incidents in 
which indeed apply to both, — but as a matter of convenience 
it is proposed to introduce here some additional illustrations. 
One of the fruits which soon becomes apparent, is an 
increased love and concern for others, which seeks their 
welfare both in outward and in spiritual things ; and enables 
man to enter into feeling with those in distress. 

An illustration of this occurs in the life of " Billy Bray,"* 
of Cornwall, England. He says : " At the time I was build- 
ing Bethel Chapel, I knew a very good man, but who 
had a very wicked woman for his Avife. She persecuted 
him in various ways ; sometimes by throwing water in his 
face. One day she provoked him so much that he swore. 
He at once keenly felt that he had grievously sinned. Very 
earnestly did he ask the Lord to have mercy on him, Satan 
busily telling him all the while that it was no use to pray, 
for no one would believe in him again. When I was work- 
ing about the chapel the Lord spoke to me and said : ' Go 
up and restore thy brother.' So I threw down the shovel 
that I was working with, and away I went to his house. 
When I got there his wife began to curse him, and to tell 
me what her husband had said. When she had done I 
asked the husband to walk out with me. I then said, ' Is 
not the devil telling you that it is no use to pray, and that 
nobody will believe in you any more ? ' Yes,' he said. 
Then I told him that the dear Lord had sent me to him, 
and that He was on his side, and that I was on his side ; 
and while I was talking to him, the dear Lord sent another 
brother to encourage him. And on the following Sunday 
the darkness was all dispersed, he regained the blessing he 
had lost, lived and died trusting in the Saviour ; while his 
wife, continuing to harden her heart, and make the path of 
her husband rough and difficult, was soon removed by death, 

* See note, p. 166. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 269 

to answer at the judgment-seat of Christ for all that she had 
done." 

The testimony given to the disciple of the Lord to deliver, 
is sometimes one of rehuke, which may not be pleasant to 
those to whom it is addressed, and which the servant would 
gladly feel excused from uttering. But if it is faithfully 
proclaimed, the obedience will receive its reward. 

John Churchman* mentions in his Journal, that when a 
young man he was brought under great concern on account 
of a Friend who gave way to sleeping in meetings for Divine 
worship. He says: "I knew not what was best to do, and 
reasoned after this manner : Lord, thou knowest that I am 
young, and he an elderly man ; he will not take it well that 
I should speak to him, and, perhaps, 1 may yet fall ; and, if 
so, the more I take upon me the greater my fall will be ; 
besides, though I have spoken in meetings for discipline, 
when Truth hath been strong upon me, yet out of meetings, 
I am not fit to reprove, or speak to particulars. I was 
cautious, indeed, in those days, of talking about religion, or 
good things, from a fear I should get a habit thereof, and 
so not know the true motion ; which I thought I had observed 
to be the failing of some. In this strait it came into my 
mind to go to the person in the night, as the most private 
time and manner ; for if I took him aside before or after a 
meeting, others might wonder for what, and I might betray 
my weakness, and reproach the good cause, and do no good ; 
and if the Friend should be displeased with me, he might 
publicly show, what otherwise he would conceal after private 
deliberation. So, in the evening I went, desiring the Lord 
to go with and guide me, if it was a motion from Him. 
When I came to the house, I called and the Friend came 
out to see who was there, and invited me in. I told him I 
was in haste to go home, but wanted to speak with him if 
he pleased, and so passed quietly toward home, to draw him 
from the door, and then told him my concern for him, in a 
close, honest, plain manner ; and without staying to reason 
much, left him in a tender, loving disj30sition, as I believe, 

*See note, p. 14. 
23* 



270 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

and returned home with great peace. When thou doest or 
givest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand 
doeth, is an excellent precept." 

This feeling of love and sympathy in the Lord's servants, 
— the fruit of that love which He first showed towards them 
— extends even towards those who have proved unkind to 
them or rebellious to their Lord. 

William Baily,* who was an earnest minister in the 
early days of the Society of Friends, published " A Want- 
ing" to all persecutors. In the preface he speaks of being 
haled out of the meeting-houses at the town of Pool, and 
denied entrance when he desired to communicate to them 
the message with which he believed he was commissioned 
of his Divine Master. " Yet," he says, " notwithstanding 
all this their rebellion, hath the Lord in mercy laid it upon 
me (whether they will hear or forbear) to write a few words 
even in tender compassion, with bowels and tears of love, to 
their captivated souls, if happily they might return unto 
Him that often smiteth them, before the things of the eternal 
peace be hid from their eye-. ' 

Another tract by the same author, entitled " The blood 
of righteous Abel crying from the ground," commences in 
this pathetic strain : " My heart within me is broken because 
of the false prophets and persecuting rulers, who are found 
fighting against the Lamb of God and his followers. Alas, 
alas? woe is me because of the misery that is coming upon 
you ; my heart is filled with sorrow and mine eyes with 
tears, and my bowels are turned within me, to consider the 
day of your desolation and destruction." 

After Elizabeth Bathursfr had been convinced of the 

*One of theearly ministers and writers of the Society of Friends. He 
was a mariner, and died at sea in 1075. See his collected Works, also 
SewelTs History efilte <^"ikern. 

f Elizabeth Bathurst was a young woman, a resident of London, of 
unusual intellectual ability, and much religious experience, who died 
about the year I'M. During her short life she labored both as a 
preacher and a writer to spread a knowledge of the principles of 
Christianity ; and suffered imprisonment for her religious principles. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 271 

principles held by Friends, and through faithful obedience 
to the Light of Christ in her heart, had attained a degree 
of religious settlement and stability ; she wrote an epistle 
to some of her former acquaintance, inviting them to come 
and partake of the blessings she had experienced. She 
says : " The constraint which [the Lord] hath laid upon me 
hath been so powerful, that my heart hath been pained in 
me, and my soul hath been distressed for you, and often 
have I been bowed down in spirit, yea, till I could hardly 
stand upon my feet, until the Lord who bowed me down 
raised me up, and set before me a door of hope, whereat 
his prisoner in you might be brought forth, which is that 
for which God's seed in me hath travelled through many 
tribulations ; and now having delivered me from that cruel 
bondage of corruption which I once groaned under, this 
makes me restless in my spirit, that others may believe in 
that inward power that is able to rescue from the fury of 
their soul's oppressor." 

In the year 1784 Job Scott* paid a religious visit to some 
parts of New York State and adjacent places. At the con- 
clusion of this, when he set forward for home, he says : " My 
mind was much affected at and after parting with Friends; 
with great tenderness and teai*s of joy, which, for a consid- 
erable space of time flowed copiously from mine eyes. I 
suppose I rode more than a dozen miles under this sensation, 
being altogether indisposed for conversation. My mind 
was carried back to view the places where we had visited ; 
and my soul was melted into ardent mental supplication for 
the preservation of Friends in general, and many individuals 
in particular; attended with such endeared affection and 
brokenness of spirit, as has rarely been my lot to witness 
for so long a time together. Oh ! with what heart-felt fer- 
vency did I intercede for the help and preservation of the 
little flock and family up and down in the world ! Oh ! the 
earnest requests that I was enabled to put up for the instruc- 
tion and Divine assistance of the many messengers of the 
Lord, who are running to and fro in the earth among the 
people : that their labors may prove successful, and benefit 

* See note, p. 14. 



272 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

the souls of mankind. Indeed, the language of solemn 
supplication ran powerfully through my mind, with a melt- 
ing sensibility for all ; that the dead might be raised, quick- 
ened and made alive in that life which is hid with Christ in 
God. Many individuals of my acquaintance, both in places 
where I had visited abroad, and also at home in our own 
and neighboring Monthly Meetings, came fresh into my 
remembrance, with such ardency of desire, and breathings 
of soul for their growth, preservation and improvement, as 
will not readily be conceived by such as have not felt the 
same. Yea, my desires for them were conceived in intelli- 
gent language in the secret of my soul, in a number of little, 
short, though sweet and melting requests for one after another 
as the Father of Spirits brought them to my remembrance. 
Oh ! how often did it flow through me as a stream of life on 
this wise ; ' O most mighty and omnipotent Lord God ! com- 
missionate thine holy angels to attend and guard thy exer- 
cised pilgrims through this vale of tears. Let cherubim 
and seraphim encamp about and surround the little host 
of militants, thy wrestling seed, while here on earth, and 
forever more.' " 

In her Wayside Service, Anna Shipton* relates a remarka- 
ble instance of loving and long-suffering service on the part 
of a Christian woman, who though living in affluence and 
having many friends, devoted herself to the care of an only 
brother, who was a confirmed drunkard. 

"This affectionate and intelligent woman, strong in Him 
who is able to subdue all things unto Himself, left her own 
pleasant home, and took up her abode in the poor drunkard's 
dwelling. Years passed by, but they wrought no change 
in him. Day after day on the borders of the lake where 
they dwelt, she might be seen in the summer twilight follow- 
ing at a distance the unsteady steps of the wanderer, as a 
mother would watch her child. 

" The position which she voluntarily accepted sundered her 
even from Christian relationship. In the minds of others 
all expectation of any favorable results from her self-deny- 
ing service had failed long since. Not so in the mind of a 

* See note, p. 15. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 273 

faithful disciple of Him who came to seek and to save. 
When urged to leave the wretched man to his fate, and to 
bestow her time and abilities on more fruitful sources of 
service, her reply was always the same, 'The Lord has 
called me to this work ; there is no one else to do it. God 
will give me my brother's soul.' 

" After a few days sudden illness, the Lord of seed time 
and harvest called home his faithful laborer. And some 
who had known her faith, and the patient, watchful care 
bestowed upon one who disregarded it, said, ' It has been 
all in vain ! Who will watch him now ! who will care for 
him now?' 

" The grass was not green upon her grave not far from 
the shore of the lake where the faithful woman trod so 
often in faith, when the brother so long sought is found ! 
Behold him clothed and in his right mind sitting at the 
feet of Jesus, a living testimony to the power of believing 
prayer." 

It has often been the case, that one who is living in a 
state of watchful obedience to the light of Christ in his 
soul, has been made sensible of the condition of a fellow 
servant, and enabled to be truly helpful to him. This is 
peculiarly the case with rightly-anointed elders in the 
Church, who through Divine help have been instrumental 
in encouraging and cheering the drooping spirits of those 
who are laden with a burthen of the Word, as well as of 
cautioning' them against dangers to which they are exposed. 

Joseph Hoag* mentions attending a meeting where his 
line of service was so close, that the members were offended, 
and after meeting refused to shake hands with him. He 
says, " It took such hold of me, that I took my bed as soon 
as I arrived at my stopping place. I had parted with my 
pilot, an elder from a neighboring meeting, expecting never 
to see him again ; but while they were at dinner, this Friend 
came and said, 'Where is Joseph?' They replied, 'He is in 
the other room very sick.' He came in and said, ' Get up and 
*See note, p. 100. 



274 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

go to dinner.' I replied, ' I cannot, I am very sick ; I can- 
not eat or drink, very likely by to-morrow I shall be in 
another world.' He replied, ' Thou art not so near dead as 
thou thinkestfor; come get up,' and added. 'I saw how thou 
wast treated to-day. When I parted with thee, I never 
expected to see thee again, and expected to sleep with my 
family ; but after riding a few miles, something spoke to 
me and said, ' Joseph is sinking, for he is letting in the 
reasoner ; thou must return and let him know the matter 
in the meeting — some of the occurrences that have trans- 
pired in it, and the exercise that meeting has caused the 
Quarterly Meeting.' I have been on a committee from 
the Quarter three times with others to try to settle matters. 
Thou charged it on the leaders of the people, which many 
knew to be the case, so that by their conduct, they had led 
the young people astray, and become a proverb among the 
people. They knew 7 all this to be the truth. Come, get up 
now and go to dinner.' By this time I began to conclude, 
if it was really so, and 1 had not hurt the cause of Truth, 
nor offended the great Master, I mattered not the rest My 
headache soon ceased, the swelling of my chest went down, 
and the fever left me. I sat down and ate my dinner, and 
rode fifteen miles that afternoon." 

The feeling of Christian love often prompts to the admin- 
istering of reproof to those who have gone astray : In this 
service there is often room for the exercise of skill in con- 
veying it, in such a manner as not to close up the way for its 
reception. Of this a pleasant illustration was given by an 
aged man who was remarkable for the kindliness of his 
manner. 

He was one day a passenger in one of the Firth and 
Clyde canal boats, in company with a number of soldiers, 
who shocked him exceedingly with their profane swearing. 
Fearing that an abrupt reproof might only provoke to an 
aggravation of the crime, he entered into a familiar con- 
versation with them ; and, seizing a proper opportunity, in- 
quired, if any of them could tell him what that sin was, in the 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 275 

commission of which men exceeded the devils in wicked- 
ness? 

As he anticipated, the singularity of the question arrested 
their attention, and engaged them in an unsuccessful attempt 
to point out the character of the sin. Having thus excited 
their curiosity, he quoted the passage, " Art thou come hither 
to torment us before the time ? " in which the devils ad- 
dressed our Saviour; and remarked that when men wantonly 
call upon God to damn their souls, they are worse than the 
devils, who, knowing by experience how dreadful it is to 
suffer under the wrath of the Almighty, earnestly entreated 
our Saviour not to add to their torments. 

Such was the awe produced on the minds of the soldiers 
by this remark, that not an oath was uttered during the rest. 
of the passage ; and at parting the sergeant in charge of 
the company shook hands with him, and cordially thanked 
him for his kind admonition and advice. 

It is said that one of the Moorish kings of Spain wished 
to build a pavilion on a held near his garden ; and offered 
to purchase it of the woman to whom it belonged ; but 
she would not consent to part with the inheritance of her 
fathers. The field however was seized, and the building 
erected. The poor woman complained to a cadi, who prom- 
ised to do all in his power to serve her. 

One day while the king was in the field, the c<idi came 
with an empty sack and asked permission to fill it with the 
earth on which he was treading. He obtained leave, and 
when the sack was filled, he requested the king to complete 
his kindness by assisting him to load his ass with it. The 
monarch laughed and tried to lift it, but soon let it fall 
complaining of its enormous weight. "It is, however," said 
the cadi, " only a small part of the ground which thou hast 
wrested from one of thy subjects. How then wilt thou bear 
the weight of the whole field, when thou shalt appear before 
the Great. Judge, laden with this iniquity?" The king 
thanked him for his reproof; and not only restored the 
field to its owner, but gave her the building which he had 
erected, and all the wealth it contained. 

This case reminds one of the windmill near Potsdam, in 



276 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

Prussia, which interfered with the symmetry of the grounds 
of the Sans Souci palace. Frederick the Second resolved 
to buy and demolish it ; the miller, however, would not sell 
it. It had been his father's and his grandfather's, and he 
wished to die, as they had died, owner of the mill. The 
king raised his offer and still failed of success. He then 
threatened to take the mill without paying for it. " Well, 
you might," said the miller, " if we had not the Supreme 
Court at Berlin." The king laughed on finding, somewhat 
unexpectedly, that in his realm there was so much confi- 
dence in the integrity of the judiciary. He made no further 
attempt to obtain the mill. The late king of Prussia, find- 
ing the mill in a state of decay, and the miller's descendants 
poor, rebuilt it at his expense, and secured it to them. The 
mill is still standing. 

Though the proper administration of reproof is often a 
matter requiring skill and prudence, yet there are cases 
which require great plainness and openness — and what may 
seem to be severe may really proceed from a true feeling of 
love. This is pointed out by James Naylor* in his Love to 
the Lost, where he says : 

That was the great love Christ showed to the Jews, when 
He told them they were hypocrites, blind guides, liars; and 
said, ' Woe unto you, ye serpents, ye generation of viper-, 
how can ye escape the damnation of hell?' And many 
such plain, true words, He spake in love to them. And that 
was the love of God in Paul, which said to Elymas, ' O full 
of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou 
enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the 
right ways of the Lord?' For all the love that can be 
showed to any creature, is to deal faithfully and truly with 
them, as they are seen in the Light. 

In this connection, I remember the case of one who was 
a member of the Society of Friends, at Wilmington, Ohio, 
whose death was caused by his drinking habits. On his 

* See note, p. 109. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 277 

death-bed, he said the discipline ought to have been honestly 
enforced against him, and this might have aroused him to a 
sense of his danger. He evidently felt that it had been a 
mistaken kindness that allowed him to go on in his down- 
ward course. 

" Let the righteous smite me ; it shall be a kindness : and 
let him reprove me ; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall 
not break my head." 

This text may have been in the remembrance of Dr. 
Ryland,* when he gave the following hint to Andrew 
Fuller.f It was difficult for Andrew to be faithful without 
being severe ; and in giving reproof he was often betrayed 
into intemperate zeal. Once, at a meeting of ministers, he 
took occasion to correct au erroneous opinion, delivered by 
one of his brethren, and he laid on his censure so heavily, 
that Dr. Ryland called out vehemently, " Brother Fuller, 
brother Fuller, you can never admonish a mistaken friend 
but you must take up a sledge-hammer and knock his 
brains out." 

A very effective reproof was that given by a colporteur 
in Berne, Switzerland, who was offering Bibles for sale. 
At one place the man of the house replied to him with 
abuse, and a positive order to leave instantaneously. He 
however stayed, urging them to buy a book. The man then 
rose in a violent rage and struck him a severe blow on the 
cheek. Up to this moment the colporteur had stood quietly 
with his knapsack on his back. He now deliberately un- 
strapped it, laid it on the table, and turned up the sleeves 
of his right arm, all the while steadily looking his opponent 
in the face. The colporteur was a very strong man. Ad- 
dressing his opponent he said : 

" Look at my hand, its furrows show that I have worked ; 

* A Baptist minister and writer. Born 1753. Died 1825. 
fAn eminent English Baptist minister and writer. Born in 1754. 
Died 1815. 

24 



278 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

feel ray muscles they show that I am fit for work. Look 
me straight in the face, do I quail before you ? Judge then 
for yourself if it is fear that moves me to do what I am about 
to do. In this book my Master says ' when they smite 
you on one cheek, turn to them the other also.' You have 
smitten me on one cheek, here is the other ! Smite ! I 
will not return the blow." The man was thunderstruck. 
He did not smite ; but bought the book. 

An aged friend once related in my hearing an exhorta- 
tion delivered by Mary Swett, a minister among Friends, 
in one of her sermons, which from its brevity and quaint- 
ness, probably long adhered to the memory of many of her 
hearers. In rebuking a fault-finding disposition, she said 
"Friends, I want you to turn the wallet about. Put your 
own faults before your face, and your neighbors' behind 
your backs." 

John Wesley* when advanced in years, was once riding 
in a stage-coach with a young man who swore a great deal. 
When they stopped to change horses, he said to his young 
companion, " I perceive by the registry books, that you and 
I are going to travel together a long distance in this coach. 
I have a favor to ask of you, I am getting to be an old man, 
and if I should so far forget myself as to swear, you will 
oblige me if you will caution me about it." The young 
man instantly apologized, and there was no more swearing 
heard from him during that journey. 

At another time, he went into a coffee-house in London, 
for some refreshments. There were several gentlemen at 
the other end of the room, and an army officer who swore 
outrageously. Wesley saw he could not address him a 
reproof without much effort and difficulty. He asked the 
waiter to bring him a glass of water. When it was brought 
he said aloud, " Now carry it to yon officer in the red coat, 
and ask him to wash his mouth after his oaths." The offi- 
cer rose up in great fury and threatened an assault, but the 
by-standers laid hold of him saying very decidedly ; " Nay 
colonel, you gave the first offence ; it is an affront to swear 

*See note, p. 206. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS 279 

in his presence." They restrained the enraged officer and 
permitted Wesley to depart. Years after he was walking 
in St. James' Park. A gentleman approached, and after 
some quiet conversation, enquired if he had any recollection 
of meeting him before. " No, sir." " Well I am the officer 
you met with a stinging rebuke in the coffee-house. Since 
that time, sir, I thank God I have feared an oath ; and as 
I have never forgotten you, I rejoice at seeing you, and 
cannot refrain from expressing my deep gratitude to you 
and to God." 

The following is taken from the New York Observer. 

I was some time since walking upon the wharf where a 
fishing boat lay, writes a Christian traveller, and as I was 
passing and re-passing, the master was uttering tremendous 
oaths. At length I turned to him, and, standing beside his 
boat, said: — 

" Sir, I am unacquainted with your business. What kind 
offish are these?" 

" They are codfish," replied he. 

"How long are you usually out in order to obtain your 
load !" 

" Two or three weeks," he answered. 

" At what price do you sell them ?" 

He informed me. 

"Well, have you had hard work to obtain a living in 
this way?" 

" Yes, hard work," said he. 

" With what do you bait these fish ?" 

" With clams." 

" Did you ever catch mackerel ?" 

"Yes." 

" Well, now, did you ever catch a fish without bait?" 

" Yes," said he, " I was out last year, and one day when 
I was fixin' my line the bare hook fell into the water, and 
the fool took hold of it, and I drew him in." 

" Now, sir," said I, " I have often thought that Satan 
was very much like a fisherman. He always baits his hook 
with that kind of bait which different sorts of sinners like 
best ; but when he would catch a profane swearer, he does 



280 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

not take the trouble to put on bait at all, for the fool will 
always bite at the bare hook." 

He was silent. His countenance was solemn ; and after 
a pause, as I turned to go away, I heard him say to one 
standing by him, " I guess that's a minister." 

The following anecdote, taken from the Cincinnati Gazette, 
shows the good effect produced by an earnest reproof. 

In one of the most important commercial cities of North 
Germany, there lived a merchant named Muller, who, in 
his walks about the city, often encountered a bright-faced, 
well-dressed young man, who always took off his hat, and 
bowed to him in the most deferential manner. 

The young fellow was an entire stranger to the merchant, 
but the latter always returned his greeting with a friendly 
nod, supposing himself to be mistaken by the young man 
for some one whom he probably resembled. 

One day Muller was invited to the country seat of a friend, 
and, arriving there at the appointed time, he noticed this 
young man walking up and down the shady paths of the 
garden, engaged in earnest conversation with the host. 

" Now I shall know who this young gentleman is," thought 
he ; and hastily approached them. 

" Allow me," said the host, after exchanging greetings 
with his friend, " to introduce — 

" It is not necessary, I assure you," interrupted the young 
man eagerly, "we have known each other for many years!" 

" You must be mistaken," said Muller, " for though, in 
answer to your greetings, I have repeatedly bowed to you, 
still you are entirely unknown to me !" 

" And yet I insist," replied the young man, " that I have 
been acquainted with you for a long time, and am delighted 
to have the opportunity of meeting you here and to present 
my most heartfelt thanks for a service you once did me !" 

" You speak in riddles," said Muller ; " how can you be 
under obligations to me, when I do not even know you ?" 

" It does seem a little mysterious," laughingly answered 
the young man, "but let us sit down here on the piazza, 
while I throw a little li«-ht on the statement. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 281 

"Seventeen years ago, when I was a lad of nine, I started 
for school one morning, with my books under one arm and 
my lunch of bread and butter under the other. I was a 
poor boy with a big appetite. My luncheon seemed never 
enough for my hungry stomach, and I used often to envy 
boys whose mothers could afford to give them choice fruit 
with their dinner. 

"This morning I had been especially dissatisfied. 'If I 
only had an apple with my bread,' I thought, ' how nice it 
would be !' 

" My way to school was through the market place, and 
as I arrived there it seemed to me the fruit had never 
looked half so beautiful or desirable. I stood there several 
moments gazing at the abundant supply, instead of hasten- 
ing away from the temptation as I should have done. 

"Suddenly an old market woman, who superintended 
large rosy -streaked apples, turned her back on her wares 
to gossip with a neighbor. 

"'Such lots and lots,' I thought to myself, 'surely one 
from so many would never be missed, yet would do me so 
much good.' 

" Quick as a flash I stretched my hand out, and was just 
about to thrust an apple into my pocket, when a sharp box 
on the ear caused me to drop the fruit in an agony of terror. 

" ' Youngster,' said an earnest voice close to my burning- 
ear, 'have you forgotten the ten commandments? Kow, I 
hope this is the first time that you have ever stretched out 
your hand after goods that are not your own, let it be the 
last time also.' 

" I hung down my head for shame, and only for an instant 
lifted my eyes from the ground to see who my reprover was. 

"When I reached school the words I heard were still 
sounding in my ear. My heart was so full I could scarcely 
keep from crying. ' Let it be the last time also,' ' let it be 
the last time also,' again and again confronted me. Bowing 
my head on the desk, I then resolved that indeed it should 
be the last time, even as it had been the first ; that never as 
long as I lived would I covet what belonged to another, or 
strive to gain unlawful possession of it. 



282 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

" After a few years I left school and became a clerk in 
my uncle's counting-room. From there a year or two later 
I went to South America. You will readily believe me 
when I tell you that there the temptations to a young 
merchant are not few. I repeatedly had opportunities, 
which acquaintances of mine did not hesitate to improve, to 
benefit myself at the expense of others, but every time these 
presented themselves, that ringing blow on the ear, and 
those words, ' Let it be the last time also,' reminded me of 
my duty, and helped me to distinguish between right and 
wrong. 

"I have been back in my native country about five 
months. I have come back possessed of considerable wealth 
— but money earned squarely and honestly ! Never have I 
knowingly reached out this hand and taken a penny even 
that did not rightfully belong to me !" 

The young man remained silent for a few moments, over- 
come with emotion, then, reaching forth his hand, he took 
that of Muller, and exclaimed : 

" Allow me to gratefully grasp the hand that once did 
me such a service !" 

"And permit me," said Muller, embracing him, while 
the tears came into his eyes, " to love the man who is capa- 
ble of such gratitude, and who in later life so faithfully 
keeps the resolve made in boyhood days." 

That favored minister of the gospel, Richard Jordan,* of 
New Jersey, knew how to administer a gentle caution in a 
skilful manner. 

A young man called upon him, who thought he had been 
unfairly treated by the members or officers of the meeting 
to which he belonged. He poured his complaints into 
Richard's ear, who patiently heard the whole story, and 
formed his judgment of the merits of the case. He then 
told the young man that he was reminded of his own ex- 
perience, when he landed in Liverpool after a rough voyage 

* An eminent minister among Friends. Born in North Carolina, and 
afterwards removed to New Jersey. Visited Europe in the service of 
theOospel. Died in 1826. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS, 283 

across the ocean. His head was so unsteady, that as he 
passed up the street, all the houses seemed to him to be 
vibrating as if shaken by an earthquake. They were very- 
high, and the prospect was so dangerous that he sat down 
on a step to consider what it was best for him to do. Then 
he found that the motion Was in himself. What further 
advice, if any, he gave to the young man is not mentioned ; 
but doubtless he felt, that if the distubance in his own mind 
Avas quieted by the influence of Grace, the imagined harsh- 
ness of his friends would disappear from view. 

The St. Louis Evangelist relates the following anecdote of 
the late Methodist Bishop Simpson.* 

AVhen he was President of Indiana Asbury University, he 
occasionally preached in the adjoining towns and villages. 
Upon one occasion he visited a neighborhood where a num- 
ber of Methodists had settled, and was the guest of a brother 
named Swank. He had immigrated from Kentucky, and 
had brought with him the means of purchasing a fine estate, 
and at the time of which I write was very prominent as a 
citizen, a man of wealth, and a church-member. 

After dinner, Swank invited the bishop to walk out and 
look at his improvements and lands. They looked at his 
glossy imported cattle, at his numerous beautiful horses, and 
his flocks of sheep, over his wide meadows, and luxuriant 
fields of corn and wheat, 

In tlie presence of these broad acres, where every clod 
blessed its owner, and where every creature was basking in 
the sunshine of the highest enjoyment of which its nature 
was capable, the bishop expressed the greatest pleasure. 

" Brother Swank," said he, " you ought to be one of the 
most grateful of men. God has filled with all good things 
your basket and store. Where did you obtain the means 
for all these improvements and purchases? Did you not 
tell me that you sold land in Kentucky?" 

" Oh yes, all I had there I sold before I left," he replied. 

"Had you negroes, Brother Swank?" 

*Born at Cadiz, Ohio, in 1811, died in 1884. A Bishop in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 



284 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

" Oh yes," he answered. " I sold them all ; I could not 
bring them here." 

" And you sold your negroes ; and some of them members 
of the same church with yourself, were they not?" 

" Oh yes," replied Swank ; " how could I do otherwise ? 
Everybody, members of all churches, sold their slaves ; what 
else could I do with them ?" 

" You could have emancipated them, Brother Swank ; 
taken them, if necessary, to a free State, bought land for 
them, and paid them back something of what they earned 
for you. Brother Swank," said the bishop, stopping and 
looking most earnestly into his face, " you want to be saved 
don't you ?" 

" Certainly I do," replied Swank, rather crustily. 

" Then," said the bishop, " go and find those negroes and 
buy them back ; for in selling them you sold Jesus Christ, 
your Lord ; for what you did to the least of his brethren, 
you did to Him." 

Swank made no reply, walked home in silence, did not 
attend the evening meeting, and never entered the church 
again. 

When our Blessed Lord w r as personally on earth, He 
often explained and enforced his teachings by parables and 
illustrations which were drawn from customs or objects 
familiar to his hearers — such as his comparison of himself 
to a vine, of which his disciples were the branches. His 
servants have often been led to follow his example in this 
respect. 

The biographer of William Bray* mentions that he once 
heard him address a large congregation of miners in Corn- 
wall, England. In that neighborhood there were two mines, 
one very prosperous, and the other quite the reverse, for the 
work was hard and the wages low. He represented himself 
as working at that mine, but on the " pay-day " going to the 
prosperous one for his wages. But had he not been at work 
at the other mine ? the manager inquired. He had, but he 

*See note, p. 166. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 285 

liked the wages at the good mine the best. He pleaded 
very earnestly, but in vain. He was dismissed at last with 
the remark, from which there was no appeal, that he must 
come there to work, if he came there for his wages. And 
then he turned upon the congregation, and the effect Avas 
almost irresistible, that they must serve Christ here if they 
would share his glory hereafter ; but if they would serve 
the devil now, to him they must go for their wages by 
and by. 

On another occasion, William visited an invalid ; and the 
sick man expressed a hope that the Lord would take him 
to heaven, there and then, as he felt quite ready for the 
change, and he should not then grieve his best Friend again 
by carelessness or unbelief. His wife, who was standing by 
the side of the bed, turned away, her eyes filled with tears. 
To her Billy immediately turned and said, " So you would 
not like to have your husband promoted then ? " And 
then he took up his parable : " Don't you think that your 
eye ought to be as much upon the Lord Jesus Christ, as the 
eye of the wordly woman is upon the Queen? Now if the 
Queen were to send for the brother, or son, or husband of 
any such woman, would not she say, ' I am sorry to part 
with him, but it may be the making of him, I must let him 
go. It is the Queen who has sent for him.' And yet you 
know," he continued, "that it might be a great expense to 
prepare him to go; or the Queen might soon die, or he offend 
her, and then he would be as bad off as ever. But the 
Lord Jesus Christ is at all the expense of the 'fit o^^t. , He 
provides the robe in which your husband will be clothed, 
the crown that he will wear, the palm that he will wave ; 
the Lord Jesus Christ will never die, and your husband 
wants to go because he knows he shall never offend him 
again : now ought you not to he. willing ? " The distressed 
wife, who was now smiling through her tears, said she was 
willing, but she did not want to lose him just yet. " And 
do you think," said Billy, " that you will ever be willing. 
If my ' Joey ' lives, and if I am to wait until she is Avilling 
for me to go to heaven, I shall never get there. The fact is, 
the Lord has a right to take your husband, or me, or any of 
his children whenever He pleases." 



286 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

There are many pleasing illustrations of the Heavenly- 
skill, with which the Christian warrior is sometimes enabled 
to shoot an arrow into the heart of careless or apparently 
hardened sinners, and through Divine help awaken in them 
the earnest inquiry, " What shall I do to be saved ? " 

On one occasion, Geraldine Hooper* went into a shop at 
Norwich to buy a dress, and made use of the opportunity 
thus afforded to give a lesson of instruction to the young 
woman who waited on her. After she had selected a dress 
and was paving for it, they entered into conversation, which 
she thus narrates : " Now you'll be sure and send me this 
dress? " " Oh, yes, ma'am." " You'll send it me now, at 
once, to-day ? " " Certainly ma'am." " You won't take it 
and wear it out first, and then send it to me when it's worn 
out, will you ? " The young woman seemed quite hurt and 
offended. " Why, you surely don't know our house, ma'am ; 
this is one of the first houses in Norwich : of course we 
should not dream of such disgraceful conduct! I never 
heard of such a thing! " " My dear young friend," said I, 
" are you not wearing out your precious life, which He 
bought and paid for with His own priceless, precious blood, 
in the service of the world, and self, sin and Satan ? Have 
you given Him what is his own by right of purchase ? You 
are not your own ; yon are bought with a price ! Have you 
given yourself, body, soul, and spirit to God ? " The young 
woman burst into tears." 

Whatever may have been the future histoiy of this per- 
son, whether the impression made on her heart was abiding 
in its character, or whether it was like the early dew and 
the morning cloud that passeth away ; the appeal to her 
conscience was skilfully made, and we may hope that it was 
inspired by that wisdom which is profitable to direct. 

When travelling once with an old general, she entered 
into conversation with him about his soul, and he asserted 
that he was all right, because he had been made a Christian 

* An English writer. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 287 

when he was baptized in his infancy. She asked him if he 
was doing or had done anything for Christ. " Oh, no ! " he 
replied. " Now, what would you think, general, of a soldier 
who, when the order to charge was given on a field of battle, 
should turn round and say, ' It is true I am a soldier — I was 
made one when I enlisted, but I never intended to fight ! ' 
What would you do with such a one, General? " "Tie him 
up to the cannon's mouth, as an example to the rest, to be 
sure ! " " And that is what the Lord will do with you," she 
solemnly replied, " He will drive you forever from His 
presence, unless you get a new heart, and lead a new life, 
through the Grace of God ! You say you are a Christian, 
and yet by your own confession you have never used your 
time or talents in the service of Jesus Christ." He was not 
offended ; but looking seriously at her said, " I never thought 
of it in that light, my young friend, but I will not forget 
your words." The train stopped, and as he left the car- 
riage he thanked her for her faithfulness. 

It is related that Bishop Kavanagh was one day walk- 
ing when he met a prominent physician, who offered him a 
seat in his carriage. The physician was an infidel, and the 
conversation turned upon religion. 

" I am surprised," said the doctor, " that such an intelli- 
gent man as you should believe such an old fable as that." 

The Bishop said, "Doctor, suppose years ago some one 
had recommended to you a prescription for pulmonary con- 
sumption, and you had procured the prescription and taken 
it according to order, and had been cured of that terrible 
disease, what would you say of the man who would not try 
your prescription ? " 

" I should say he was a fool." 

" Twenty-five years ago," said Kavanagh, " I tried the 
power of God's grace. It made a different man of me. 
All these years I have preached salvation, and Avherever 
accepted have never known it to fail." 

The following is an interesting illustration of the manner 
in which those who are called upon to advise others, may be 
helped by passing through similar trials and temptations. 



ZQQ INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

It was furnished to the writer by a descendant of the person 
referred to, who was a valued Friend, residing in Chester 
County, Pennsylvania. 

The Monthly Meeting of which she was a member, at 
one time appointed a committee to visit the delinquent 
members, and also those who were troubled with sleeping or 
drowsiness in meeting. 

The committee (of whom our friend w r as one) were united 
in believing it the right time to enter on the duties of their 
appointment, after a meeting for worship on a certain Fifth- 
day. Never having been troubled with drowsiness, she was 
surprised soon after taking her seat at the head of a large 
meeting, (on the day mentioned), to be beset with a strong 
temptation to fall asleep, and her conflict to keep from yield- 
ing was painful in the extreme. So alive was she to her 
condition, and the necessity of struggling, as for her best 
life, not only on her own account, but for the sake of others, 
and for the cause she loved, lest it suffer through her weak- 
ness, that every effort was used by her to resist the tempta- 
tion, and so little did it seem to avail that she almost de- 
spaired ; when with great power the words of the dear 
Saviour were brought to her remembrance, " Without me 
ye can do nothing," relief came, the tendency to sleep 
almost instantly vanished, and she could humbly and grate- 
fully acknowledge the One who had given this never to be 
forgotten lesson of instruction ; had also in mercy extended 
to her the hand of deliverance in a time of sore need. 

The effect of this experience was to imbue her with a spirit 
of charity which she had not before felt for those who are 
tried with drowsy feelings ; and to prepare her for entering 
upon the service to which she had been appointed, with 
greater sympathy for the weakness of others. The experi- 
ence told of human frailty ; and how, in our own strength 
alone, we cannot overcome temptation ; and the effect of the 
wisdom thus gained was the uplifting of the finite to the 
Infinite, in the full assurance, " there is balm in Gilead and a 
healing Physician there." 

"When John Churchman* was in England, in the course 

*See note, p. 14. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 289 

of his religious visit, he came to Kendal, in Westmoreland. 
In speaking of that town, he says : — 

In the course of our visiting families here, during our 
silent sitting in one of them, my mind was much taken up 
in thinking of a watch, and the several wheels and move- 
ments thereof, until I was grieved at such trifling thoughts, 
as I esteemed them, when suddenly there appeared some- 
thing instructive therein, and I had a freedom to say, the. 
several parts thereof seemed to represent the excellent 
faculties and gifts bestowed on man. Though the wheels, 
&c, of a watch were truly made, and placed in their proper 
order, yet there must be a main-spring to give them motion ; 
so the gifts and faculties of men must have their main-spring 
and cause of motion to every good work, a zeal to the honor 
of the Lord, their Creator, and a fervent holy desire to 
answer the end of their creation; and as there is a regula- 
ting spring to a watch, so also there should be the true 
knowledge of God and of themselves experienced in his 
light, to preserve from going too fast, knowing by his heav- 
enly instruction, that no wisdom, zeal, strength or ability, 
will enable to do the Lord's work to his honor and the good 
of man, but that which God giveth. In order that a watch 
may answer the end intended by its maker, there is a visible 
face and hands to discover the inward motion, thereby 
showing time ; so it is needful that a man should be a co- 
worker with the spirit and gift of grace in his heart, that 
others beholding the light thereof might be taught to glorify 
God, and in his light so to number his days and walk in 
his fear, as to die in his favor. As a zeal for the cause of 
truth and a fear of falling short of duty, may at times prompt 
man to rush on too fast, it is needful that he should wait in 
humble reverence to feel the love of God, and the influence 
of that knowledge and wisdom which is from above, and 
experienced by those who are spiritual, that the end of all 
their labor may be in the spirit of meekness to restore those 
who are overtaken in error. In order that men may dwell 
in that which gives ability to labor with success in the church 
of Christ, it is needful that their minds should be enclosed 
in the bosom of truth, in humble retirement, to be preserved 



290 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

from the various tumults, cumbers, cares and temptations 
of the world, which would otherwise clog their minds and 
deprive them of their true spiritual sense and motion. So 
in a watch it is needful that all the inward parts, which are 
so curious, should be enclosed from damps, vapors, motes 
and dust, otherwise it would thereby be deprived of its 
motion and become useless for keeping time. 

My intent in this relation is to show the infinite conde- 
scension of Him whose mercy is over all his works, to instruct 
the children of men, each as it were, in his own tongue or 
language, suitable to his understanding ; the man being by 
trade a watch-maker. He seemed to be tenderly reached, 
and we parted in a degree of sweetness ; it was the Lord's 
doing and marvellous to me, praised be his holy name for- 



The Journal of this valuable Friend contains several 
examples of the skilful maimer in which, by comparisons 
drawn from the outward world, he explained or enforced 
the spiritual truths he wished to convey. In the winter of 
1738, he visited some of the meetings in Philadelphia and 
Chester Counties, Pennsylvania. He says : 

" The weather was very cold, being about the middle of 
the Tenth Month when I set out, and in my journey I went 
to visit a worthy Friend who was indisposed, and as we sat 
together in the evening, he asked me why I chose the win- 
ter season to visit my friends, for many infirm folks could 
hardly attend meetings ; and said he was sometimes ready to 
query, whether public Friends do not take that time to 
serve their Master, because they could do but little for 
themselves. I was thoughtful and low in my mind before, 
and had some reasoning whether it had not been better that 
I had staid at home, than ventured out on the service at 
that time of the year. Though I thought I had an engage- 
ment sufficient when I set out, his query made me more 
thoughtful and added to my reasoning. But I soon recov- 
ered strength, and it came into my mind to ask him whether 
Friends could eat to supply and sustain their bodies in the 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 291 

summer, and partake also of spiritual food for their souls in 
that season, so as not to labor in the winter, and care for 
the sustenance of their bodies, or assemble and attend meet- 
ings to worship and wait upon God for spiritual food for 
their souls ? He acknowledged I had by this query satisfied 
him to the full, and said he was glad of my visit, and hoped 
his talking as he did, would not discourage me, for I believe 
he saw it brought a damp over me at first." 

In a meeting that he attended while in England, he was 
lead to treat of the transforming power of Christ, the Word 
of God, in changing the mind, will and affections, and plac- 
ing them on heavenly objects. In illustration of this, he 
referred to the comparison of the potter : 

When an earthly potter hath formed a vessel for use, he 
carefully setteth it aside, until it be prepared to bear a fur- 
ther operation, to harden and glaze it for the use for which 
it is made ; if man should put even water into an earthen 
vessel formed for that use, before it is hardened and prepared 
by fire, he would both mar the vessel and expose that which 
was put therein. Let not such therefore who have known 
the Heavenly hand so to prepare them, that they arc willing 
to be whatsoever the Lord would make of them, marvel if the 
Lord should be pleased to set them by awhile for the trial 
of their faith. If the earthly potter's vessel should crack in 
drying, it would be marred, so if these vessels of the heav- 
enly Potter keep not the word of his patience in this their 
drying season, to prepare them for the operation of the 
heavenly fire and furnace, in which the Lord will sanctify 
and fit his vessels for the use of his holy sanctuary, they 
will also be marred ; but otherwise they will come forth 
vessels of honor in his house. 

There are very few persons that do not appreciate and enjoy 
an apt comparison ; and indeed instruction often penetrates 
in this way the mind that seems nearly impervious to more 
didactic teaching. A pleasing illustration of this is contained 



292 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

in some reminiscences of the late E. R. Beadle,* published 
by one of his friends. He says : 

There was a mission-school in Hartford, in a garret room 
of a rickety building, in the earlier days of such schools in 
this country. It was what the English would call a " ragged 
school," made up of boys and girls of the very lowest class 
in the community, out of homes of squalor and of vice along 
the river-banks in one of the poorer quarters of that city. 
It was not an easy matter to catch and hold the attention 
of that motley assemblage. There was rarely a visitor who 
was equal to the emergency. But E. R. Beadle won the 
eyes and ears of all who were there when first he came to 
that school. Standing in front of the superintendent's desk 
before the school closed for the day, he held up a common 
fresh-water clam-shell, and called out : " Boys, what is that?" 
"A clam-shell," cried a hundred voices. " Yes, it's a clam- 
shell — a rough, coarse clam-shell ; just such a shell as you 
could pick up any day by the bank of the river, or back in 
the country by a brook in the woods." Then, turning the 
shell quickly iu his hand, he showed the other valve, beauti- 
fully polished, its irridescent colors reflecting the light 
attractively. "And what is (hat, boys ?" he said. "That's 
a clam-shell, too," was the answer. " Yes ; but see how 
much prettier this side is. What makes the difference ?" 
" It's been rubbed down," said one. " It's been smoothed 
off," said another. " It's been polished up," said a third. 
" Yes, that's it. And boys, do you know that's just what 
we are trying to do with you in this Sunday-school ? We've 
brought some of you in here as rough as the other side of 
the clam-shell ; and now we are trying to rub you down, to 
smooth you off, to polish you up, so that you'll shine like 
this side of the shell. This polishing business is hard work, 
boys, and it takes time ; but it pays." Then he pressed 
home the need of soul-polishing in words which were never 
forgotten in that room. E. R. Beadle was thenceforward 

*A Presbyterian clergyman and a scientist. Born in New York 
State m 1812. At one time a missionary in Mt. Lebanon, and after- 
wards pastor to several congregations in America. He died in Phila- 
delphia in 1879. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 2^'A 

known by those boys as "the clam-shell man;" and they 
always gave him a hearty welcome in their school-room, or 
as they met him from time to time in the street. Many of 
them were more willing to be rubbed down and smoothed 
off in consequence of his suggestive words of then and later; 
and some of them came finally to have a character which 
reflected beautifully the rays of the Sun of Righteousness. 

In teaching his disciples, our blessed Saviour frequently 
resorted to parables; and to this day lively comparisons 
between things natural and things spiritual, such as He 
uttered 1800 years ago, are a means of instruction, which 
his disciples often make use of. 

A young man, who had not been fully brought under the 
influence of religion, was about to go from England to India. 
A pious friend, who was very anxious that he should not 
leave the country in that state of mind, induced him to 
stay a week with him in London, and took him to hear 
a minister of much repute — a very able man — a man of 
sound argument and solid thought, in the hope that per- 
haps something which he said would lead to his friend's 
conversion. The youth listened to the sermon, pronounced 
it an excellent discourse, and there was an end of it. He 
Avas taken to hear another earnest preacher, but no result 
came of the service. When the last night came, the godly 
friend, in a sort of desperation, ventured with much trem- 
bling to lead his companion to hear Rowland Hill,* earnestly 
praying that he might not say any funny things, that he 
might preach a very solemn sermon. To his horror, Row- 
land Hill that night said many quaint things, among the 
rest he said that he had seen a number of pigs following a 
butcher in the street, at which he marvelled, inasmuch as 
swine usually have a will of their own, and that will is not 
often according to their driver's mind. Upon inquiring he 
found that the pigs followed the leader because he had peas 
in his pocket, and every now and then he dropped a few 

*An eminent and somewhat eccentric preacher in England, at- 
tached to the doctrines of the Calvinist Methodists. Born 1744. Died 
1833. A man of great benevolence, piety and zeal. 
25* 



294 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

before them, thus overcoming their scruples and propensities. 
Even so, said the preacher, does the devil lead ungodly men 
captives to his will, and conduct them into the slaughter- 
house of everlasting destruction, by indulging them in the 
pleasures of the world. 

The sober man who had brought his friend to the chapel, 
was greatly shocked at such a grovelling simile, and grieved 
to think of the mirth which his young friend would find in 
the comparison. They reached the door, and to his sur- 
prise the youth observed : "I shall never forget this service. 
That story about the pigs has deeply impressed me, for I fear 
it is my case." The critic could only retract his criticism, 
in the silence of his own grateful heart. 

When Rachel Wilson, a ministering Friend of England, 
was in this country in 1760, she attended Philadelphia 
Yearly Meeting, and in the concluding sitting of the select 
meeting, she imparted much solid advice, particularly to 
the elders, whom she compared to the golden snuffers under 
the law, that were made of the same beaten gold with the 
lamps. She remarked that if a proper use was made of 
the snuffers, by taking away that which dimmed the lustre 
and was superfluous, the light would burn and shine clearer 
and brighter. But some were so fond of snuffing, that they 
at length waste the life of the candle and put it out; and it 
was much easier to take away the light than to give it. 

The force and appropriateness of this comparison are very 
clear to those who have been familiar with candles as their 
principal dependence for artificial light ; but in these days 
of gas and kerosene and electric currents, there may be 
some who do not know how greatly the light of the candle 
is dimmed by the excrescences which form on the top of the 
wick, and which it is the office of the snuffers to remove. 

At a meeting in New England, in 1850, Mary Davis, of 
Dartmouth, delivered an interesting communication. She 
lived in a seafaring neighborhood, so that it is not surprising 
that the lesson she wished to convev should be couched in 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 295 

terms familiar to sea-going people. The subject that came 
before her mind was a ship, tossed with contrary winds, and 
a head-beat sea, that yet neared the desired spot, almost with- 
out being conscious of it. The reckoning might be outrun, 
but she thought it high time to take a pilot on board. 
When a ship is nearing port, the mariners look anxiously 
for the pilot ; and he, knowing their wants, -will come a long 
distance to meet them. But it is not enough merely to take 
a pilot on board, we must give up the whole government of 
the ship to him, and obey his commands, if we expect to be 
brought safely in. Unless we are thus obedient and submis- 
sive, we may be shipwrecked and cast away at last, after 
safely voyaging a long distance. 



CHAPTER X. 

Prayer. Thomas Chalkley and the Privateer. The Religious "Wife. 
Prayer for Bread. Ministry. Thomas Ktory and America. John 
Churchman and Great Britain. Job Scott's Prospect. Job Scott 
Shut Up. Willing to be Silent. Resolved to do Better. The Emp- 
tied Pitcher. Burning the Bad Bushel. Waiting on the Lord. Robert 
Barclay's Testimony. Tennent's Extremity. The Norfolk Preacher. 
Women Preachers. Mary Collet. Mary Brantingham and the 
Preacher. George Withy and the Unitarian Minister. James Nay- 
lor's Preaching. The Trumpeter. Conscientiousness in Small 
Things. Thomas Willis. Elizabeth L. Redman and the Slave 
Dealer. " Ephraim is a Cake not Turned." " Quench not the Spirit." 
How to Listen to Preaching. John Finch Marsh. Richard Jordan 
atRichmond. Barbara Everard. Job Scott's Care. Thomas Wilson. 
Isaac Penington. 

There are many experiences of the righteous which con- 
firm the truth of those promises of Scripture which assure 
us that our Father in Heaven listens to the cries of his chil- 



296 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

dren, and answers them ; not always in the way that they 
may look for, but in that manner which is consistent with 
his holy will. Without Divine help we know not what we 
should ask for, for we cannot see the far-reaching conse- 
quences which might follow the indulgence of our wishes ; 
but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us in accordance 
with the Divine will. It is only as we are brought under 
the influence of this Spirit, and put up our petitions through 
its aid and prompting, that our prayers are true and living, 
and effectual in drawing a blessing upon us. Yet it is our 
duty to live in habitual communion with God, with the 
mind often turned to Him the fountain of all spiritual 
strength, so that we may be preserved from evil, and be 
made quick of understanding to know his will. This is in 
accordance with the ex-hortation of the apostle, to pray 
without ceasing, which cannot mean that we are to be 
always uttering words of prayer. 

That the servants of the Lord are sometimes led to pray for 
outward blessings and preservations as well as for spiritual 
ones, is interestingly shown by an experience of Thomas 
Chalkley,* related in his journal, under date of 1707. He 
says : 

On our way to Jamaica, we saw a small privateer, that 
gave us chase, and it being calm, she rowed up towards us. 
The master prepared the vessel for fight, hoisting up the 
mainsail and putting on our colors ; some were bold and 
some were sorrowful. One, coming to me, asked what I 
thought of it, and what I thought of the Quakers' princi- 
ples ; I told him I thought I was as willing to go to Heaven 
as himself was ; to which he said nothing, but turned away 
from me. 

Another asked me, what I would do now ; I told him I 
would pray that they might be made fit to die. Then in 
the midst of their noise and hurry, in secret, I begged of the 

*.See note, p. 156. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 297 

Almighty, in the name and for the sake of his dear Son, 
that He would be pleased to cause a fresh gale of wind to 
spring up, that we might be delivered from the enemy with- 
out shedding blood (well knowing that few of them were fit 
to die), and even while I was thus concerned, the Lord 
answered my desire and prayer; for in a few minutes the 
wind sprang up, and we soon left them out of sight, our 
vessel sailing extraordinarily well. The next day we went 
to Jamaica and had divers meetings. 

A striking incident is related of a seriously minded young 
girl of sixteen years of age, who was imprudent enough to 
enter into marriage with an ungodly man ; and thus in- 
volved herself in many deep trials. Her husband opposed 
her going to a place of worship, and for a time she yielded 
to his wishes in this respect. But finding that her compli- 
ance produced no good effect upon him, she obeyed what she 
believed to be the will of her Heavenly Father, and resumed 
her attendance of religious meetings. The rage of her hus- 
band was hard to bear, but, sustained by the Grace of God, 
she patiently persevered in the path of duty. 

This continued for several years, and her husband in the 
meantime fell into drunken habits, and treated her with 
increased cruelty, threatening to burn her clothes, break her 
head, and turn her out of doors. One day, as she was 
combing her hair, his behavior was so bad as to seem no 
longer to be endured. She laid aside her comb, and falling 
on her knees in the presence of the astonished man, she 
poured out her soul to her Father in Heaven, earnestly 
pleading for the salvation of her husband. This completely 
silenced him ; and during the remainder of the day, he went 
about the house as quiet as a lamb. That night to her sur- 
prise and joy, he said, "Oh, Mary, what a wicked man I 
am ! How dreadfully I have treated you ! Can you forgive 
me? If you can forgive, I know God can!" "I forgive 
you with all my heart," was the sincere reply. 

The account states that he became a changed character, 
and was enabled to lead a consistent Christian life. 

As a family were about sitting down to breakfast one 



298 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

morning a strong impression rested on the mind of the mis- 
tress, that she must cany a loaf of bread immediately to a 
poor man who lived about half a mile from her house, by 
the side of a common. Her husband wished her to post- 
pone taking it till after breakfast, or to send it by a servant ; 
but she chose to take it herself and without delay. As she 
approached the hut, she heard the sound of a human voice, 
and coming to the door unperceived, found the poor man 
was praying for relief. Among other things, he said, " Oh, 
Lord, help me ! Lord, thou wilt help me ! thy promise 
cannot fail : although my wife, myself and children have 
no bread to eat, and it is now a whole day since we had any, 
I know thou wilt supply me, though thou shouldst again 
rain down manna from heaven." At these words, the listener 
could wait no longer, but opening the door, " Yes," she re- 
plied, "God has sent you relief; take this loaf and be 
encouraged to cast your care upon Him who cares for you ; 
and, whenever you want a loaf of bread come to my house." 

There are many such instances on record, in which the 
prayer of faith has been answered. Indeed he who lives in 
communion with the Spirit of God, and recognizes the Divine 
government in the moral as well as the material world, has 
an habitual feeling of his dependence on the Lord for all 
his blessings, both inward and outward. This dependence 
will not lead such an one to slothfulness, or carelessness 
in his outward business; as if he might idly spend his time, 
and expect to be fed by some miraculous means. The same 
grace which leads him to trust in the Lord, will lead him to 
be diligent in business, and to labor to provide for his own 
wants and the wants of those dependent on him. 

When our Saviour commissioned and sent forth his chosen 
disciples to proclaim the glorious Gospel message to the 
people, He commanded them to go into all the world, and 
preach the Gospel to every creature. Down to the present 
day, He continues to prepare some of his servants for a like 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 299 

service, and still sends them forth to various parts of his 
footstool, to invite the sons and daughters of men to come 
unto Him and be saved. It has often been a matter of 
interest to notice the unfoldings of the Divine will ; and the 
pointings to duty, sometimes in distant parts of the world ; 
as they are related by those, who have been under the pre- 
paring hand of the Lord for his work. 

Thomas Story* thus describes his own experience : " In the 
year 1693, towards the latter end of autumn, as I was riding 
alone in an evening, in Cumberland, the power of Divine 
Truth moved upon my mind, and my heart was greatly 
tendered before the Lord ; and the Word of the Lord open- 
ed in me, saying : ' Behold, my visitation cometh over the 
western parts of the world, towards the sun-setting in the 
time of winter.' And I was greatly comforted in the words 
of his holiness. 

" From henceforth I was often tendered in spirit, in re- 
membrance of the western world, in a sense of the love and 
visitation of God to a people there, whom I had never seen ; 
which was more and more renewed and settled upon my 
mind, in frequent tenderings and brokenness of heart, under 
the holy influence of the Divine presence, until the year 
1695 ; when, at the house of our friend, John Whiting, at 
Wrenton,in the county of Somerset, upon a visit to Friends 
in those parts, with Aaron Atkinson, looking occasionally 
upon a map of the world, especially upon the southwesterly 
parts from England, the power of the Lord suddenly seized 
my soul, and his love melted me into a flood of tender 
tears. But hitherto I knew not that the call of the Lord 
was to me to visit those parts ; though, from henceforth, I 
began to be afraid of it. 

" And in the time of the Yearly Meeting at London, in 
the Bull and Mouth, Aaron Atkinson being concerned in 
prayer, among other petitions to the Lord, prayed for the 
western countries and places beyond the seas, ' That the 
Lord would please to send forth his ministers in the power 
of his Word, to publish the day of glad tidings more and 
*See note, p. 111. 



300 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

more among them. Upon which the power of Divine life 
moved sensibly in my heart ; and the concern, secretly be- 
gotten in my soul, now began to answer and appear; and, 
after that, great heaviness and fear came over me. 

" The same day after the meeting, several Cumberland 
Friends and others being together after dinner, upon occa- 
sion of mentioning some of those countries by one of the 
company, the Word of life moved powerfully in my soul, 
with open assurance of the call of the Lord to me to visit 
some of the American countries ; but, though I was exceed- 
ingly broken, to the tendering also of most of the Friends 
there, yet I was silent as to the particular matter, being 
willing to conceal it as long as I could, since no time was 
then prefixed when I should move forward therein. And 
being young and weak in the exercise of the ministry ; and 
having no opinion of my own abilities of any kind, I urged 
it before the Lord as a reasonable plea, as I thought, against 
it at that time. 

" At London I remained for some time, and entered into 
some writing business for necessary subsistence; but, before 
the year ended, I suffered much in spirit by reason of my 
confinement thereby; since this calling of God cannot be 
answered by any one too much entangled in other affairs, 
though the employment in itself be very lawful, and, to the 
reason of man, seeming needful ; but, though loth to leave 
all, (for it was no less than life, and all that was near and 
dear in the world), yet, finding my concern remain and 
increase, I yielded at length, in the secret of my mind, to 
answer the call of the Lord to that part of the world." 

John Churchman* relates, that after returning from a 
visit to Friends in Xew Jersey, " I felt such an inward 
silence for about two or three weeks, that I thought I had 
done with the world, and also any further service in the 
church, and the preparing hintf was brought to my mind, 

* See note, p. 14. 

t This alludes to a caution received some months before, and which 
is thus narrated: "As I sat in a week-day meeting, in the winter of 
1748, I felt great weakness and poverty attending my mind, which oc- 
casioned a deep inquiry into the cause. After a time of inward wait- 
ing, the humbling Divine presence was felt in reverent profound 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 301 

with thankfulness that I had endeavored in good degree to 
practise it. One day, walking alone, I felt myself so weak 
and feeble, that I stood still, and by the reverence that covered 
my mind, I knew that the hand of the Lord was on me, and 
his presence round about; the earth was silent and all flesh 
brought into stillness, and light went forth with brightness, 
and shone on Great Britain, Ireland and Holland, and my 
mind felt the gentle, yet strongly drawing cords of that love 
which is stronger than death, which made me say, Lord ! 
go before and strengthen me, and I will follow whitherso- 
ever thou leads. I had seen this journey nearly fifteen years 
in a very plain manner, and at times for ten years thought 
the concern so strong upon me that I must lay it before my 
friends for their advice, but was secretly restrained ; being 
made to believe that an exercise of that sort would ripen 
best to be kept quiet in my own heart to know the right 
time, by no means desiring to run without being sent. To 
see a thing is not a commission to do it; the time when, and 
judgment to know the acceptable time are the gifts of God." 

Job Scott,* at one time was brought so low with sickness, 
that many of his friends thought he would not recover. 
He says of this period, " I was, after a season of deep exer- 
cise and probation, enabled to resign up life and all into 
the hands of Him who made me, and to say in sincerity, 
thy will be done in life or death. And as I lay one night 
in great distress of body, and deep thoughtfulness of mind, 
I was drawn into an awful view of death, eternity, and 
eternal judgment, in a manner that I never had before ; but 
feeling my mind perfectly resigned to depart this life, and 
launch into an endless eternity, if so the Lord my God 

silence, yet the gentle operation of the Divine power caused an in- 
ward trembling, and the following was uttered in a language intelli- 
gible to the inward man : ' Gather thyself from all the cumbers of the 
world, and be thou weaned from the popularity, love and friendship 
thereof.' I believed this to be the voice of the Holy One of Israel, as a 
merciful warning to prepare for my final change, or to stand ready 
for some service which would separate me from temporal business 
and the nearest connections in life ; and from that time I endeavored 
to settle my affairs, and contract my little business as well as I could." 
* See note, p. 14. 



6\)"Z INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

should please to order it, and finding all pain of body and 
anxiety of mind removed, I lay still some time, thinking 
probably I might ere long be released from all the pangs 
and toils of time, into the glorious rejoicings of eternal life. 
But after a considerable length of time had passed in inward 
and profound stillness and adoration, large fields of labor 
were opened, and I saw that I must travel from place to 
place in this and distant lands, in the Lord's commission 
and service. From this time I never entertained a doubt 
of my recovery, although I had afterward a return or two 
of the disorder, more severe than before ; for these openings 
were in the fresh evidence of Divine life, which never deceived 
me." 

The exercise of true Gospel ministry is always in the 
ability which is received from a fresh extension of Divine 
help ; and without the sensible evidence of that help, the 
true minister will not venture to enter upon this sacred 
work, however much he may have been favored in his com- 
munications at other times. Hence there are many such 
ministers who often pass the time of meetings for worship in 
a silent wrestling for the arising of Divine life ; or, it may 
be, in the enjoyment of a sense of the Lord's goodness and 
mercy. And this has often been the case with those who 
are travelling on the Gospel errand. When the Lord with- 
holds hi.s command, they dare not speak to the people, lest 
the reproving language should be sounded in their spiritual 
ears, " Who hath required this at thy hands." 

When Job Scott was visiting the churches in Pennsylva- 
nia and adjacent parts, in the year 1786, he passed through 
such an experience, which he relates to his wife in a letter 
written from Philadelphia. In this he mentions that he had 
been out in the country, and that at the first eleven meetings 
after leaving the city, he was shut up in profound silence, 
except a very few words at the close of the first ; and he 
makes the following comments : " I now know that when 
[the Lord] shuts none can open. I read it and believed it, 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 303 

and in good degree felt and experienced it before ; but now 
I know it in the deeps, in a manner past all human penetra- 
tion or natural apprehension ; and what is more than all 
that, I rejoice in it too ; yea, I greatly rejoice that it is so, 
and that I have thus exereisingly found it so. For, by thus 
fully learning this part of the lesson, I have been led feel- 
ingly, and to my great admiration, to dip far deeper than 
ever into a clear experience of the other part, that " when 
He opens none can shut." And blessed be his holy name, 
after I gave all up, and, not daring to shrink back, con- 
cluded to go on, and be a fool, a spectacle and a sign in 
dumbness and silence, or whatever He pleased, I felt the 
word of his power, and the eternal influence of his Divine 
life to arise in my soul, in majesty and mighty dominion : 
and in the fresh openings of the vision of light, my trumpet 
was prepared to sound ; and the openings being indisputably 
clear, great was my confirmation ; yea, and consolation also; 
for it was like a resurrection from the dead. And, indeed, 
a good, honest old woman said to me after meeting, ' I am 
glad I was at thy resurrection to-day.' 

" Many, my dear love, were the kind Friends that sym- 
pathized with me in my baptism unto death; and how could 
they but rejoice with me in the abounding* of that which 
was evidently felt to be ' the resurrection and the life ? ' 
My way has been opened and good ability given in every 
meeting since, save one." 

The experience of Job Scott as above related, that after 
he had submitted to appear as a fool, he felt the influence of 
the Divine life to arise in his soul, brings to mind the re- 
lation made by another minister. As he approached a 
house where many persons were collected, in the expecta- 
tion of hearing him preach, when he saw the number who 
had assembled, an earnest desire sprang up that they might 
not be disappointed. As he sat in the meeting under this 
feeling, many texts passed before his mind, but he could 
feel no spiritual life accompanying any of them. Finally, 
he was enabled to settle down with this conclusion — that if 
the Lord had any service for him to perform in that com- 
pany, He would show him what it was ; and if He had 



304 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

nothing for him to do, he would remain quiet. After arriv- 
ing at this state an exercise spread over his mind, under 
which he was enabled to minister to the congregation. 

One of the great objects of true ministry is to turn the at- 
tention of people to the Light of Christ in their own hearts, 
the great Teacher, to guide them in the way of salvation ; 
and as the apostle says, " to stir up the pure mind in them." 
This purpose may be effected and substantial benefit de- 
rived by the hearer who yet may sometimes be unable to 
retain in his memory anything that the preacher has said, 
or even the subject on which he spoke. Bishop Hoskyn of 
old times, says : 

I have heard of one who returning from an affecting ser- 
mon, highly commended it to some ; and being demanded 
what he remembered of it, answered : " Truly, I remember 
nothing of it at all ; but only while I heard it, it made me 
resolve to live better ; and so, by God's grace, I will." 

There is a story to the same purpose of one who com- 
plained to a holy aged man that he was discouraged from 
reading the Scriptures because he could fasten nothing upon 
his memory. The hermit bade him take an earthen pitcher 
and fill it with water. He then bade him empty it again 
and wipe it clean, that nothing should remain in it. This 
being done, " Now," said he, " though there be nothing of 
the water remaining in it, yet the pitcher is cleaner than it 
was before; so though thy memory retain nothing of the 
word thou readest, yet thy heart is cleaner for its very pass- 
age through." 

To the above may be added the following of a later date : 

" What a sermon we had last Sunday ! " said a poor 
woman, who kept a small shop, to a neighbor. 

" What was it about ? " asked her friend. 

" I don't remember," she replied. 

" What was the text ? " she was then asked. 

" I cannot quite think," she replied ; " but I know that 
when I got home, I took and burned up my bad bushel." 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIO N S . 305 

The spiritual benefit to be derived from reading the Scrip 
tures, or from hearing the gospel preached, depends on the 
willingness wrought in the reader or hearer to yield himself 
to the convictions of Divine Grace which may accompany 
these outward ministrations ; and to co-operate therewith. 
Without this religious exercise, the mere listening to a ser- 
mon or reading a portion of Scripture, will not profit. Yet 
to the humble, submissive, seeking soul, a blessing is often 
extended in connection therewith. 

The exercise of soul, which sometimes covers the mind 
when seated in silent meetings for Divine worship, is at- 
tended with a similar blessing. If the mind is brought to 
feel the good presence of the Lord and to partake of spir- 
itual refreshment from his heavenly table, it matters not 
whether the blessing is immediately communicated, or through 
an anointed instrument. In either case the hungry soul is 
satisfied. That experienced Christian, Richard Shackleton,* 
in writing to one of his (laughters, says : " I seldom find 
any opportunities, of a religious kind, more deeply and solidly 
beneficial to my spirit, than those which I meet with in my 
seasons of private retirement at home. To this assiduous, 
diligent waiting for, and seeking after, the resurrection of a 
Divine life, inwardly stirring in their own minds, I, above 
all things, recommend my dear children, as the surest way 
to be preserved, as well as to grow and thrive in religious 
experience." 

Robert Barclayf says in his Apology : " It was not by 
strength of argument or by a particular disquisition of each 
doctrine, and convincement of my understanding thereby, 
I came to receive and bear witness of the truth, but by 
being secretly reached by this life; for when I came into 

* See note, p. 194. 
t See note, p. 39. 
26* 



306 I X ( ' I D E X T S AND R E F LECTIONS. 

the silent assemblies of God's people, I felt a secret power 
among them, which touched my heart, and as I gave way 
unto it, I found the evil weakening in me, and the good 
raised up, and so I became thus knit and united unto them, 
hungering more and more after the increase of this power 
and life, whereby I might feel myself perfectly redeemed. 
And indeed this is the surest way to become a Christian, to 
whom afterwards the knowledge and understanding of prin- 
ciples will not be wanting, but will grow up so much as is 
needful, as the natural fruit of this good root." 

The records which have been preserved of some of those 
who have been engaged in the work of the ministry, of the 
manner in which they have been led in the exercise of the 
gifts and calling bestowed upon them, contain much that is 
interesting and instructive. 

It is recorded of one of the Tennents,* that when medi- 
tating on a subject for a discourse which he was expected to 
deliver at a meeting for public worship, he was assaulted 
with the temptation, that the Bible was not of Divine 
authority, but the invention of man. All efforts to repel 
the temptation seemed unavailing, and his mind became so 
agitated and distressed that all the thoughts which he had 
collected in connection with his proposed sermon disap- 
peared, nor could he think of any subject on which to 
speak. 

In this tried condition he went to the place of assembling 
where he found a large congregation collected; waiting to 
hear him. He was now more distressed than ever, especi- 
ally for the dishonor which he feared would fall upon re- 
ligion through him that day. When the usual time for 
prayer arrived, he arose, as one in a most painful and peril- 
ous situation, and with arms extended to heaven exclaimed, 
" Lord, have mercy upon me ! " In the utterance of this 
heart-felt petition, the cloud broke away, and light shone 
upon his soul. A deep solemnity spread over the people, 
*See note, p. ■<". 



INCIDENTS AND R E F L E C T I X S . 807 

heavenly help seemed administered to him, and the oppor- 
tunity was so blessed to his audience, that he ever afterwards 
spoke of it as " the harvest day." 

His experience was similar to that of a colored Methodist 
minister in Norfolk, Virginia, with whom the writer of these 
articles met a few years since. Whilst visiting among some 
of the sick and afflicted in that city, reference was made to 
a sermon which had produced an unusual impression on the 
people. My curiosity was awakened, and I inquired of the 
minister what there was about it which was out of the usual 
course. He replied in substance, that his feelings on that 
occasion were not like what he usually experienced. He 
had gone to the meeting with a sermon prepared to deliver 
according to his general custom. But on taking his place 
before the audience, he felt a Divine command not to preach 
the sermon which he had brought with him. This prohibi- 
tion was so clear and positive, that he did not dare to dis- 
obey it ; yet no other subject presented to his mind, and he 
sat there humbled and helpless. In accordance with the 
custom among the Methodists, a portion of Scripture was 
read, and a word or expression in that fastened upon his 
mind. With this he arose, and as he kept close to the 
Divine Guide he was led on from one thing to another, till 
a degree of tenderness and brokenness was manifested among 
the people, such as he had never before witnessed. 

Perhaps there are none who have been rightly exercised 
in this service, but have been conscious of a marked differ- 
ence in the degree of Divine help afforded them at different 
times ; and have been sensible that any spiritual benefit to 
the people must depend on the Lord's blessing. One who 
ministers at stated times recently remarked to one of my 
friends, that he sometimes felt that a measure of life and 
unction attended his sermons which was not perceptible on 
other occasions. The same idea was expressed by another 
such minister, who said that sometimes he preached but often 
he only talked. These experiences are a confirmation of 



308 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

the doctrine that all true gospel ministry must come from 
the Head of the Church, who alone can confer the gift, 
and instruct his servants when and how to exercise it. 

The experience of the Society of Friends as to the exercise 
of ministry by women as well as by men, has verified the 
truth of the prophetical declaration : " I will pour out my 
spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall 
prophesy." They can testify that the Divine Gift is bestowed 
without distinction of sex. Among some other religious 
denominations a degree of liberty is given for women to 
engage in this service. Among the Wesleyans in England, 
women have often spoken in religious meetings. Among 
others a very excellent woman named Mary Collet, a Wes- 
leyan, believed she was called of the Lord to preach, and 
frequently did so. The Wesleyan Superintendent of the dis- 
trict in which she resided, was only half-satisfied with women's 
preaching ; and on one occasion gave notice that he would 
himself conduct the services at a time and place where in 
regular course Mary Collet would have spoken. Accordingly 
he came, and when the time came, stood up and gave out 
the text on which he designed founding his discourse. But 
he was utterly unable to go on. Every appropriate idea 
disappeared, and after struggling in vain to find something 
to say, lie was compelled to call on Mary Collet, who was 
seated among the audience, to come and take his place. 
Her mind was under exercise for the people, and she was 
able to obtain relief for herself. 

An illustration of the need of being careful how we judge 
of religious services by outward appearances alone, is given 
in an anecdote related of Mary Brantingham, a valuable 
minister, who resided near Stocton-on-Tees, England. 

At a meeting at Helmsley, in Yorkshire, she spoke to an 
individual, whom she addressed as a poacher, a smuggler 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 809 

and exceedingly immoral ; calling him in a moving manner 
to repentance and amendment of life, with gracious offers 
of pardon and mercy. Friends thought that her remarks 
would not apply to any individual in the room, and it is 
probable that some of them felt considerably uneasy at the 
time. The meeting was held in a large upper room, with 
the door and stairs open to the street ; and it was afterwards 
found that a man was accidently passing, to whom Mary's 
address was very appropriate, and who, hearing the sound 
of her voice, had stopped to listen. 

A similar incident is recorded of the late George Withy,* 
of England. He was at a week-day meeting at Frenchay, 
which was small, owing to many members being absent 
attending the Quarterly Meeting. He spoke on the divinity 
of Christ in a close and searching manner, as though some 
present did not believe in it. The few friends present were 
so well acquainted with one another, that they became 
uneasy, about such a sermon having been preached at that 
time and place, as not being applicable to any of the audi- 
tors. 

In the evening of the same day George Withy called on 
a Unitarian minister with whom he was well acquainted, 
and found him suffering severely with pains in his head and 
face. In reply to an inquiry as to his health, the minister 
said, I was passing your meeting-house to-day when I heard 
your voice, and stopped through all the cold and rain to 
hear what you had to say." " Well," said George, " and 
what did'st thou hear ? for listeners seldom hear any good 
of themselves." " Why, sir, you said, that at the name of 
Jesus Christ every knee shall bow." " Yes, I did say, that 
at the name of Jesus Christ every knee shall bow, and 
every tongue confess : and at the name of Jesus, thy knee 
shall bow either in mercy or in judgment." 

The searching manner in which George Withy applied this 
truth, may well be connected with what is told of an individ- 
ual who was not remarkable for his piety. As he was walk- 
ing near a meeting-house to which Friends were gathering, 

* See note, p. 245. 



310 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

he saw one of them with whom he was on intimate terms, and 
feeling disposed to enter, he asked his acquaintance when 
proceedings Avould commence. The Friend, pointing him 
to a convenient seat, replied in a whisper, " If thou sits down 
there, and looks back over the bad actions thou hast com- 
mitted, preaching will begin with thee directly." 

In the Journal of James Gough,* there is mentioned an 
interesting incident which illustrates the remarkable power 
that attended the ministry of some of the early members of 
the Society of Friends. A person of some note, who had 
been an officer under Oliver Cromwell, related the anecdote 
as follows, to some people at an inn, among whom was James 
AVilson, who thereby became more favorably disposed to- 
wards Friends, and willing to attend their meetings, he 
having been, before that time much prejudiced against 
them. 

" After the battle of Dunbar, as I was riding in Scotland, 
at the head of my troop, I observed at some distance from 
the road, a crowd of people, and one higher than the rest ; 
upon which, I sent one of my men to see and bring me 
word what was the meaning of the gathering; and seeing 
him ride up and stay there without returning according to 
my order, I sent a second, who stayed in like manner ; and 
then I determined to go myself. 

" When I came thither, I found it was James Naylort 
preaching to the people, but with such power and reaching 
energy, as I had not till then been witness of. I could not 
keep from staying a little, although I was afraid to stay ; 
for I was made a Quaker, being forced to tremble at the 
sight of myself. I was struck with more terror by the preach- 
ing of James Xaylor than I was at the battle of Dunbar, 
where we had nothing else to expect but to fall a prey to 
the swords of our enemies. I clearly saw the cross of Christ 

*Born in Westmoreland. England, in 1712; removed to Ireland in 
1738, and died in 1780. A minister among Friends. See Jminial. 
I See note. p. 109. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 311 

was to be submitted to, so I durst stay no longer, but got 
off and carried with me condemnation, for it was in my own 
breast. The people there, in the clear and powerful opening 
of their states, cried out against themselves, imploring mercy, 
a thorough change, and the whole work of salvation to be 
effected in them. Ever since, I have thought myself obliged 
to acknowledge on their behalf, as I have now done." 

The " power and reaching energy" of which this military 
officer was a witness, were due to the Divine authority which 
accompanied the message of salvation delivered by James 
Naylor ; and they could not be derived from any other 
source. Some men are gifted with great natural eloquence, 
and a wonderful ability in swaying the feelings and passions 
of men by their oratory, and such men may undertake to 
preach the Gospel, and may produce much excitement for 
a time by appeals to the feelings of their auditors ; but it is 
the Lord's power alone that can seal conviction on the 
heart, and bring into a willingness to bear the cross by 
bringing all to the Light of Christ that everything may be 
judged, and that only embraced which is in accordance 
with the will of God. 

William Sewel,* in his History of the Quakers, mentions 
the case of an evilly-disposed trumpeter, who, coming into a 
meeting of Friends, began in an insolent manner to sound 
his trumpet, thereby to drown the voice of him that was 
preaching. This stirred up the zeal of the preacher the 
more, so that he went on as if none disturbed him. The 
trumpeter at length to recover his breath, was fain to cease 
blowing ; but being still governed by an evil spirit, after 
some intermission began to sound again : but whatever he 
did, he was not able to divert the preacher from his course, 
though he might hinder the auditory from hearing what 
was spoken. Thus he wearied himself so much, that he 

* Historian of the early Quakers, and author of an English and 
Dutch dictionary, and other works. Born in Amsterdam, Holland, in 
1650. Died about 1725. 



312 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

was forced to rest again for respiration, whereby, in spite of 
his evil will, he came to hear what the preacher spoke, 
which was so piercing that the trumpeter came to be deeply 
affected with it, and burst into tears, confessed his crime, 
and came to be a true penitent. 

Some years ago, there appeared in the Vermont Courier 
an interesting relation of the effect produced by a practical 
sermon, from the text, " He that is unjust in the least, is 
unjust also in much." The preacher stated that men who 
take advantage of others in small things, have the element 
of character which would lead them to wrong the commu- 
nity and individuals in great things, when detection or 
(•ensure is as little to be dreaded. He pointed out various 
ways by which people wrong others ; such as borrowing 
improperly ; by mistake in charge ; by error in accounts ; 
by escaping taxes and custom-house duties ; by managing to 
escape postage ; by finding articles and never seeking own- 
ers ; by injuring articles borrowed and not making the fact 
known to the owner when they were returned, &c. 

" One lady met the minister the next day, and said, 

' I have been up to Mr. to rectify a mistake he 

made in giving me change a few weeks ago, for I felt bit- 
terly your reproof yesterday.' Another individual went 
to Boston to pay for an article not in her bill, which she 
had'noticed was not charged when she had paid it. A man 
going home from meeting said to his companion, ' I do not 
believe there was a man in the meeting to-day who did not 
feel condemned.' After applying the sermon to a score or 
more of his acquaintances, he continued, ' Did not the pas- 
tor utter something about finding a pair of wheels?' 'I 
believe not, neighbor A. He spoke of keeping little things 
which had been found.' ' Well, I thought he said two or 
three times something about finding a pair of wheels, and 
really supposed he meant me ; I found a pair down in my 
lot some time ago.' ' Do you know,' said his companion. 

' whom they belong to?' 'Mr. B lost them a short 

time ago.' The owner was soon in possession of his wheels." 

Though all spiritual good conies from God, the source 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 313 

and fountain of all our blessings, yet He is often pleased to 
bless the services of those whom He calls to teach the glad 
tidings of salvation to others, and to cause the word spoken 
to profit in that whereunto He directs it. 

It is related that Thomas Willis, of Cornwall, was once 
preaching from the passage, " My grace is sufficient for 
thee," and mentioned the following circumstance. A serious 
young woman was laboring under a strong temptation to 
drown herself. The enemy so far succeeded, as to prevail on 
her to go to the river to put the plan in execution, but as she 
was adjusting her clothes to prevent her from floating, she 
felt something in her pocket ; it was her Bible, and she 
thought she would take it out and look in it for the last 
time ; she did so, and the above mentioned text caught her 
eye. It was, under the Divine blessing, applied with energy 
to her soul ; the snare was broken, the temptation was re- 
moved, and she returned praising Him who had given her 
the victory. 

The relation of this incident by the preacher proved the 
means of the conversion of a man and his wife then present, 
and of effecting a similar deliverance. These persons had 
been living in a state of almost continued enmity ; and their 
home exhibited a scene of discord and confusion. In one 
of these unhappy seasons, the wife came to the dreadful 
determination to drown herself; she accordingly left her 
house for the purpose, and came near the river, but it being 
too light, she feared on that account she should he detected. 
Seeing the place of worship open, she thought she would go 
in ; and when the services were over, it would be sufficiently 
dark to accomplish her purpose. When she entered, Thomas 
Willis was preaching, and the striking incident described 
by him so affected her mind, that through mercy ; she returned 
to her home with changed feelings. When she entered the 
house, her husband looked at her with surprise ; her counte- 
nance had lost its malevolent expression, and indicated 
meekness and gentleness. Struck with her appearance, he 
asked her where she had been, she told him. "And did 
you," said he, " see me there ?" " No," she replied ; " but I 



314 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

was, and blessed be God, I found his grace sufficient for me 
also." The reality of the change thus begun was shown by 
their future lives, which were such as became the Gospel of 
Christ. 

An interesting illustration of the goodness of the Lord, 
who sometimes commissions his ministers to extend the offers 
of mercy to those who have long lived in rebellion to Him, 
is furnished by an anecdote told of Elizabeth L. Redman,* 
of Haddonfield, N. J. In 1833 she was liberated by her 
Monthly Meeting to attend the Yearly Meeting of Balti- 
more. While there she was introduced into much exercise 
on account of an individual whom, three years previously, 
she had observed at an inn a few miles from that city. 
Feeling that she could not with an easy mind proceed home- 
ward, without endeavoring to see him, she mentioned the 
subject to her companion, 'who inquired his name. She 
replied, " I know not his name nor his home ; I can only 
say that I saw him not far from this place ; but whether he 
is a traveller or a resident here, I am unable to tell. But 
I believe if we can see him, we shall find him in affliction." 

It being thought right to make the effort to discover him, 
it was mentioned to a friend, with her description of the 
appearance of the individual, which was so striking that it 
was immediately believed to be that of a person known as 
a slave-dealer, noted for great inhumanity. Inquiry was 
made for the man, and after much search it was ascertained 
that he resided near where she was then lodging. Elizabeth 
with her companion went to see him. He was confined to 
his chamber by indisposition, she at once recognized him ; 
and taking a seat by him, sat for some time in profound 
silence. He also sat with his eyes fixed upon her in appar- 
ent amazement. She then addressed him in close but kind 

* see note, p. 2^6. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 315 

language, describing his condition as being desperate in the 
extreme ; but said she believed the door of mercy was now 
open to him, if he would submit to the terms of salvation. 
After this she knelt and supplicated in a remarkable man- 
ner, interceding with the Father of mercies, that in the day 
of final retribution, the blood of none might be found upon 
him unrepented of. He was greatly broken by this appeal 
to the Throne of Grace, and tears flowed down his face 
abundantly. She then took a kind leave of him, much to 
the relief of her own mind. He did not recover from this 
sickness, but after this interview became greatly humbled 
and changed. 

Many and interesting are the anecdotes related of the 
manner in which the truly anointed ministers of the Lord 
have been led to open to individuals or to meetings their 
real condition. 

When Christopher Healy* was in England on a religious 
visit, more than fifty years ago, he attended Kendal Meet- 
ing. Soon after taking his seat, he saw in mental vision a 
fire almost as clearly as if it had been visibly before his 
eyes ; and he saw that the people were going round it and 
round it, but none of them would venture through it. He 
stood up with the text, " Ephraim is a cake, not turned." 
He described what he had seen — that the people were going 
round the fire of the Lord, which, if submitted to, would 
burn up their corruptions ; and that they were turning, as 
it were, only one side to it, and letting that get a little 
scorched ; and trying to make that answer instead of fully 
submitting to the refining operations of the Lord's hand. 

This was close doctrine ; and probably would apply to 
the people in many other localities than Kendal, for it is a 

* A valuable minister among Friends. Born in Rhode Island in 
1773. Died at his home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1851. He 
travelled extensively in the United States and Canada, and in Great 
Britain and Ireland. See his Journal. 



816 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTION-. 

common weakness to try and find some easier way into the 
kingdom of heaven than the narrow path of self-denial, and 
the bearing of the cross, although our Saviour has declared 
that without these, we cannot be his disciples. But it was 
probably a comfort to Christopher to be told afterwards by 
a minister belonging to Kendal Meeting, that some time be- 
fore, Jonathan Taylor, a minister from Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, 
had been there, and had commenced with the same text, 
which he applied in much the same way. 

A somewhat similar unity of exercise in two ministers, 
was witnessed by the writer. At Birmingham Monthly 
Meeting, held, I think, on that occasion, at West Chester, 
Chester County, Pennsylvania, about the beginning of the 
year 1845, Samuel Cope* was present and spoke, commen- 
cing his sermon with the Apostle Paul's exhortation to the 
Thessalonians,*" Quench not the Spirit, despise not prophesy- 
ing," etc. — quoting several verses. This was on the Fourth- 
day of the week. Rebecca Kite, who was then a teacher at 
Westtown Boarding School, and was present at the meeting, 
mentioned the presence of Samuel Cope, in a letter which 
she wrote to the family in Philad dphia, but purposely re- 
frained from giving the text on which he spoke, lest it might 
embarrass her father in his ministerial services, as she knew 
that he would probably be at West Chester Meeting in a few 
days. Thomas Kite did attend that meeting on the follow- 
ing First-day. I was there and was interested, perhaps 
rather startled, when he arose with the same passage which 
Samuel Cope had used four days before. 

" Words fitly spoken " are compared to " apples of gold in 
pictures of silver." Where the language and delivery of a 
minister are dignified and graceful, they may be compared 
to the " silver " framing in which the " golden " apples of 
truth are presented ; and their beauty is admitted by all. 

* A minister among Friends, who resided in Chester County, Penn- 
sylvania. Born in l7S r *. Died in 1871. A man of decided character 
and convictions, and firm in upholding what he believed to be right. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 817 

Yet it pleases the Head of the Church to call into his ser- 
vice as ministers of the Gospel, many on whom these quali- 
ties have been bestowed only in small measure. If these 
" preach the preaching " which He bids them, the Divine 
blessing may make their unpolished sentences as fruitful in 
good results, as the utterances of those who are more emi- 
nently gifted with oratorical powers. 

Cowper speaks of the fashionable world as drawing gross 
sensuality through the golden tube of refinement, "The 
neat conveyance hiding all the offence; " but there are some 
fastidious people who seem scarcely willing to receive the 
most important spiritual truths unless they are conveyed to 
them through a similar tube. Such unwise ones may find 
instruction in an anecdote of Rowland Hill.* 

In advanced life he made a tour in Yorkshire, in the 
course of which he paid a visit to an old friend of his, who 
said to him : " Mr. Hill, it is just sixty-five years since I 
first heard you preach, and I remember your text, and part 
of your sermon." " T'is more than I do," was the reply. 
" You told us," his friend proceeded, " that some people 
were very squeamish about the delivery of different minis- 
ters, who preached the same Gospel. You said, ' Suppose, 
you were attending to hear a will read, where you expected 
a legacy to be left to you, would you employ the time when 
it Avas reading in criticising the manner in which the lawyer 
read it? No, you would not ; you would be giving all ear 
to hear if anything was left to you, and how much it was. 
That is the way I would advise you to hear the Gospel." 

A writer in The British Friend, among some memoranda 
of his early life, describes a visit to his father's house, paid 
by the late John Finch Marsh,* of Croydon, England. He 
says : 

He was then a saintly-looking elderly man, evidently 

* See note, p. 293. 

* Died in 1873, aged eighty-four years. See Letters. 

27* 



318 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

weighted with a load of real humility and a deep sense of 
the sacredness and responsibility of his calling. After he 
had addressed my father and mother, a pause ensued. Be- 
lieving that he had been really sent by his Divine Master, 
and being at that time specially depressed by a feeling 
almost of hopelessness as to realizing the state to which I so 
earnestly aspired, I put up a silent prayer that he might be 
commissioned to help me. Immediately he turned towards 
me and told me that although I was a perfect stranger to 
him, a feeling of strong and loving encouragement arose in 
his mind for me. He bade me be patient and trustful and 
faithful ; and then he assured me that I should be brought 
out into a large place, and find freedom and strength beyond 
what I could at that time imagine. When the opportunity 
was over he was very affectionate to me, and we were both 
deeply touched with a sense of the loving-kindness of the 
Lord, and of his special condescension and guidance on that 
occasion. 

Precious indeed is the feeling of reverence and solemnity 
which the Lord is pleased at times to spread over the minds 
of those who are assembled to wait upon and worship Him. 
It is an evidence of the fresh extension of his goodness and 
mercy. A remarkable instance of this is mentioned in con- 
nection with a meeting appointed many years since, at Rich- 
mond, Virginia, for Richard Jordan * who was then travel- 
ling in that State. It was designed for the members of the 
Legislature which was then in session, and was held in the 
Legislative hall. The meeting was well attended, and Rich- 
ard was engaged in ministerial labor, in so powerful a man- 
ner that the company was much melted into tears. After 
he had finished his service, and when it seemed seasonable 
for the meeting to separate, Richard arose and said he 
thought it a suitable time for those present to withdraw. 
No one moved. Richard repeated the words, still all re- 
mained seated. He then left the house, but having forgot- 

*See note, p. 282. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 319 

ten his overcoat went back to procure it, and found the 
company still sitting under a solemn covering which they 
seemed unwilling to dissipate, and so he left them. 

In the exercise of the ministry, as in other things of a 
spiritual nature, the Lord is often pleased to make use of 
instruments that seem weak and even contemptible to the 
wise and prudent of this world. Barbara Everard, who 
lived at Ashwell in England, was an example of this, of 
whom Joseph Oxley* says in his journal : 

In this place lives Barbara Everard, a poor, honest, de- 
crepid creature, apparently convulsed all over, by which her 
speech is much affected, and understanding also. Yet the 
Lord has been pleased to make use of this young woman in 
an extraordinary manner, having bestowed on her a gift in 
the ministry; in which office she appears above many of far 
more natural talents. In common conversation she is diffi- 
cult to be understood, being of a stammering tongue; but 
very clear in utterance in her ministry, her matter very 
correct and sound, opens the Scriptures very clearly, and 
preaches the Gospel with great power and authority, and is 
of singular service in this place : she had at this meeting 
good service. 

In a letter to Joseph Oxley, dated 9th of Seventh Month, 
1760, Barbara speaks of herself and of one of her en- 
gagements as follows : 

I believe the Lord will have a people to bear testimony 
to his great name and truth in the earth, for He is some- 
times pleased to make use of mean and contemptible instru- 
ments, to bear testimony to his great name, of which. num- 
ber I am one, as thou knowest very well. Yet the Lord 
doth not forsake me, for He is near to help all those that 
put their trust in Him. 

For some time I had a concern upon my mind to go to a 

* A minister among Friends in England. Born 1715. Died 1775. Came 
to America on a religious visit. See Life in Friends' Library, vol. 2, p. 
415, etc. 



820 I X ( ' I I) E X T S AX1) RE F L E C T I X g . 

place called Weson, about two miles from Baldock, to have a 
meeting, where there had not been a meeting held for about 
twenty years before, which made me loth to give up to it. 
But when the mighty power of God arose in me, I was made 
willing; and my uncle and one of our young Friends went 
with me ; and the meeting was very large, there being as 
was supposed two hundred people at it ; and I had a good 
open time among them, and they behaved soberly, so that I 
came away with a reward of peace in my own bosom : for 
the Lord is a rich rewarder of all them that faithfully serve 
Him. 

Barbara's expression, " When the mighty power of God 
arose in me, I was made willing," reminds one of the simi- 
lar language of the Apostle, " I can do all things through 
Christ, who strengtheneth me." It is this Divine power and 
wisdom which comes from on High that gives all its author- 
ity to Gospel ministry. As people come to feel after and 
trust to this, they will be preserved from placing their confi- 
dence in anything which man can do in his own unassisted 
strength. The Apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians that 
his speech and his preaching among them had not been with 
enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of 
the Spirit and of power, so that their faith should not stand 
in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Yet Paul 
was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and was well versed 
in the learning of the Jews. Rutty, in his account of 
Friends in Ireland, makes a similar statement in regard to 
Alexander Seaton, one of the early ministers among Friends ; 
that although he was a scholar, he was not much known to 
be such in his services for the Lord, not esteeming that 
learning in comparison to the gift of God, and the operation 
of his Holy Spirit 

Job Scott* was a man of unusual powers of mind; but it 

See note, p. 14. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 821 

is recorded of him, that in the exercise of his gift he was 
"circumspect not to minister without fresh anointing; and 
careful in attending to the turnings of the key of David ; 
well knowing that when that shuts none can open : and 
therefore when he perceived his subject to close and the life 
withdraw, however clear his opening, and free the spring 
of life had been at his beginning, he would suddenly sit 
down, however, in the cross ; for he had a testimony to bear 
against all superficial and lifeless ministry, and very exern- 
plarily avoided it." 

The same care was exercised by Thomas "Wilson * one of 
those dignified laborers in the Gospel, whom the Lord raised 
up in the early days of the Society of Friends. When on a 
religious visit in Ireland, he says, "The motion of life in me 
for travelling ceased, and I durst not then go further, but 
returned back to the County of Wexford, and wrought har- 
vest-work at Lambstown for some time." James Dickinson 
coining over from Cumberland, " the Lord was pleased to 
open my way to go with him, and we travelled together in 
true brotherly love, and had a prosperous journey." After 
a time, " I was afraid of running before my true Guide 
(because they who run and are not sent of God can neither 
profit the people nor themselves) and so I staid at work in 
the City of Waterford about sixteen weeks." 

Isaac Penington,f in describing his own experience gives 
an interesting account of the effect upon him of that Divine 
power which accompanied the ministry of George Fox. 

He had before met with Friends, but, he says, " the more 
I conversed with them, the more I seemed in my understand- 
ing and reason to get over them, and to trample them under 

* See note, p. 46. 

f A deeply spiritual minister and writer among early Friends. The 
father-in-law of William Penn. Died 1679. His works have been sev- 
eral times reprinted. 



322 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

my feet, as a poor, weak, silly, contemptible generation. 
After a long time I was invited to hear one of them (as I 
had been often, they in tender love pitying me, and feeling 
my want of that which they possessed) : and there was an 
answer in my heart, and I went with fear and trembling, 
with desires to the Most High, who was over all, and knew 
all, that I might not receive anything for truth which was 
not of Him, nor withstand anything which was of Him ; 
but might bow before the appearance of the Lord, my God, 
and none other. And indeed, when I came, I felt the pres- 
ence and power of the Most High among them, and words 
of truth from the (Spirit of truth reaching to my heart and 
conscience, opening my state as in the presence of the Lord. 
Yea, I did not only feel words and demonstrations from 
without, but I felt the dead quickened, the seed raised ; 
insomuch that my heart (in the certainty of light, and clear- 
ness of true sense) said, ' This is He, this is He, there is no 
other ; this is He whom I have waited for and sought after 
from my childhood ; who was always near me, and had 
often begotten life in my heart ; but I knew Him not dis- 
tinctly, nor how to receive Him, or dwell with Him.' " 

His own convincemcnt having been effected, not by the 
wisdom of man but by the power of God, when he was 
called unto the ministry, he was careful that his own labors 
and those of others should be under the same Divine anoint- 
ing. William Penn, his son-in-law, testifies of him, that 
" He was very urgent that all those who knew anything of 
the heavenly gift of ministry unto others, would always 
wait in their several exercises to be indued with matter and 
power from on high, before they opened their mouths in a 
testimony for the Lord." 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 323 



CHAPTER XL 

Ministry continued. Prophetic Visions. John Richardson. Joseph 
Hoag. Peter Gardiner. Miles Halhead. John Roberts. Dr. Lelt- 
child's .Sermon. James Simpson's Sermons. .Tamos Simpson and 
the Deist. Maintenance of Ministers. Remarks of John Richard- 
son. Of Thomas Story. Joseph Hoag's Experience. Industry. 
Daniel Stanton. John Parker. John Banks. John Simpson. When 
to be Silent. Thomas Story. Joseph Hoag. William Bray. John 
Churchman. Without Outward Information. Joseph Hoag. John 
Churchman. Communion of Spirits. Thomas Story. Robert Scot- 
ton and the Indian Woman. Richard Shackleton's Advice. 

It is an opinion prevalent in the Christian world, that 
the prophetic visions with which holy men were favored in 
former ages are no longer vouchsafed ; and that in these 
days we are not to expect manifestations of Divine power, 
such as the healing of the sick, which was practised by the 
Apostles, and which no doubt aided them in convincing 
the people of the Divine origin of the religion they preached 
to the world. The testimony of scripture does not seem to 
sanction this opinion, for it was foretold by the prophet 
Joel, as one of the features of the Christian dispensation, 
that the Lord would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, and 
the sons and daughters should prophesy, the old men should 
dream dreams, and the young men should see visions. There 
are many proofs that the spirit of prophecy, in the sense of 
foretelling future events, as well as of preaching the gospel 
to the people, is not wholly withdrawn from the Church. 

John Richardson* mentions that as he was walking in a 
field with his soul in deep concern, meditating on the things 
of God, and fervently praying to Him for p reservation, his 
mind was brought into an heavenly frame as in the presence 
of the Lord, and covered with fear and reverence before the 
* See note, p. 77. 



324 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

Majesty of heaven. In this condition the language was 
presented to his mind, " The people are too many, I will 
thin them, I will thin them, I will thin them." In a re- 
ligious visit, which he paid soon after, this prophetic vision 
was published, at such places as he felt called upon to do 
so. At Kilmouck, in Scotland, he was concerned to tell 
Friends, " that the Lord would take many of them away ; 
which in a short time came to pass, for many died before 
that time twelve month, it being the time of scarcity of 
corn ; and it was thought many died for want of bread the 
year ensuing my being there." 

John Richardson, in his account of this matter, gives a 
wise caution to all who may apprehend that they have re- 
ceived similar openings, to be. careful, that " nothing of the 
warmth of their own spirits be stirred up," but that the 
mind may be purged from its own workings and be fitted 
to receive the gift. 

When the same Friend was about to embark for America, 
lie went aboard a ship in the river Thames. He says: "We 
had not been longj there, and having considered our free- 
dom about ^oina: in the ship, it opened clearly in my mind, 
in the Light, that I must not go in that vessel ; and I said 
to the Friends, I could not go in her, for I saw nothing but 
death and darkness there. The account of what afterwards 
happened to the ship I had from two particular friends, in 
two several letters from London into America, wherein they 
expressed a thankfulness for our deliverance, and magnified 
that Hand which wrought it, and preserved us from going 
in that ship, which was lost near the islands of either Jer- 
sey or Guernsey, and, as it was said, about seventy people 
were drowned." 

At a meeting in Acushnet, Massachusetts, nearly eighty 
years ago, Joseph Hoag* arose, and uttered these solemn 
words of warning : 

" Friends I have a message to deliver, and I want you 

* See note, p. 100. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 325 

individually to turn your attention to your own feelings, 
for if you do, doubtless the one to whom it belongs will feel 
the force and evidence of it. It has appeared as plain to 
my mind, as a plain printed book, so that I neither doubt 
nor scruple, that there is one in this meeting, who has lived 
a good moral life, been a good companion, a good parent, a 
good neighbor, and an honest dealer, but has settled down 
at ease, thinking this was enough ; yet thou hast not made 
thy peace with thy God, and not a moment to spare, for 
thy time is very short ; thou must go home to be seen of 
men no more. ! let not sleep rest upon thine eyes, nor 
slumber upon thine eyelids, until this work is done ; for 
thou shalt have no time upon a languishing bed ; for when 
thy change comes, in the language of the apostle, — it shall 
be in an instant, at the twinkling of an eye ; for the mouth 
of the Lord hath spoken it." 

It may well be imagined that this message, accompanied 
with a measure of Divine authority, must have produced a 
great effect upon those assembled. Some time after a Friend 
about sixty years of age, who belonged to Acushnet Meet- 
ing, and was present on this occasion, went to the barn near 
night to milk his cow a little earlier than usual, as it seemed 
likely to rain. While he was milking, he was struck with 
lightning and instantly killed. 

When the same minister was in Nova Scotia in 1801, he 
had a meeting at Digby. In the course of his communica- 
tion, he says, " I was led to address the mother of a family, 
that mourned with heart-rending grief for a drunken hus- 
band, that was spending his property at taverns in drunken- 
ness, so that she greatly feared her children would come to 
poverty and want. I had to speak to her thus : ' Hold up 
thy head in hope, for thou shalt soon be relieved of thy 
burthen ; thy husband shall be taken away and laid be- 
neath the turf, and not suffered to deprive thee of a living, 
nor thy children of a home. When this takes place, see 
that thou art a mother to thy children, bringing them up in 



326 I N C l DENT S A N D REFLB C T I N S . 

the fear of the Lord, that He may be a husband to thee, 
and a father to thy children, and may bless you.' 

"After meeting there came in several where I was ; one 
man looked on me and said : 'According to your preaching, 
such a man is going to die soon, and you pictured him out 
exactly.' I asked if he was at meeting? He answered, 
' Yes, and his wife too.' Before I got away from the place, 
there came a man into the house where I was, and said, 
such a man is dead, just as the minister said. He died 
drunk, and now we want to get the minister to stay and 
preach the funeral sermon. I thought it best to pass away 
as quickly as 1 could." 

"When Joseph Hoag was travelling in the Southern States. 
he attended a Monthly Meeting at Springfield, where, he 
says, "I felt my mind drawn to make a visit to the women's 
meeting. I opened it to the men, had their consent, and a 
Friend was named to go in with me. Soon after I got 
there, it was opened to me that there was one in the meet- 
ing who was accused of stealing, and who was entirely 
innocent of the crime. I sat under the exercise until my 
Master showed me how and in what manner to take hold 
of the subject. I then rose ami said, 'Had I in the men's 
meeting met witli what I have here, I should not have been 
so much surprised, for men engaged in the business of the 
world, will sometimes run across and spot each other; but 
to find amongst the other sex, where we look for the finest 
feelings of sympathy, an accusing of an innocent sister of 
taking property which is not her own, and keeping it for 
her own use, who is as innocent of any such crime as a child 
unborn ; and not only accusing, but whispering and spreading 
it abroad to the great injury of the credit of the innocent ; 
and what is worse, for those who sit in high stations to 
sanction these reports, and to give them force, is cruel ; and 
that this should be found among them, I am surprised ; but 
rest assured, that the Lord will overturn all this, and the 
day will come that it will be known who is innocent. The 
Lord will plead the cause of suffering innocence ; and if 
thou who art the sufferer keeps in the quiet, abiding in 
patience, the day shall come that thou shalt be carried over 
the heads of thv accusers.' 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 327 

" I passed on, and no one said anything to me on the 
subject. I heard nothing of it for years, but when I 
did, it was said that two members of that meeting, with 
their children, had accused a daughter-in-law, a widow, of 
taking and secreting several hundred dollars in money, 
that was not her own. Several years passed. At length 
the man who had the money came forward and let it be 
known that he had. it, and that the widow's husband had 
paid the money to him a few days before his death, for 
land that he gave a deed for. The deed was found, which 
agreed with the man's testimony. Thus I was credibly 
informed, the poor widow was cleared. I leave this with 
a hope it may be a caution to others, how they accuse on 
suspicion, and give pain to suffering innocence." 

Many years ago, Peter Gardiner,* a Friend who lived in 
Essex, England, on a religious visit to Scotland, came to 
the house of John Richardson, who then dwelt at Bridling- 
ton, in Yorkshire. "In the evening the doors being shut, 
Peter asked him if any Friend lived that way, pointing with 
his finger; John told him he pointed towards the sea, which 
was not far from thence. He said he believed he must go 
and see somebody that way in the morning. John asked 
him if he should go with him? he said he believed it would 
not be best, and so went to bed. 

" In the morning when John's wife had prepared break- 
fast, he thought he would go and see if the Friend was well, 
but found that he was gone ; at which John Richardson 
wondered. Soon after, Peter came in, to whom John said, 
Thou hast taken a morning walk, come to breakfast. Be- 
fore they had done eating, a Friend from the quay, or har- 
bor, which lay in the direction that Peter Gardiner pointed 
to over night, came in, and said, ' I wonder at thee, John, 
to send this man with such a message to my house ; and re- 
lated as follows, viz : That he came to him as he was stand- 
ing at the fish-market-place, looking on the sea, to observe 
the wind, and he asked him if he would walk into his 
house? To which Peter answered that he came for that 

*Died at Carlisle in 1695. See Account in Friends'' Library, vol. 6, p. 
237, etc. 



328 INCIDENTS AXD REFLECTIONS. 

purpose ; this was in the twilight of the morning. When 
we went into the house, Peter inquired whether his wife was 
well ; to which the man answered, that she was sick in bed, 
and invited him to go in and see her ; he said he came so to 
do. Being conducted into the chamber where the sick wo- 
man was, he sat down by her ; and after a short time told 
her, that the resignation of her mind was accepted instead 
of the deed, and that she was excused from the journey 
which had been before her, and should die in peace with 
God and men. Then turning to the man, her husband, he 
said, Thy wife had a concern to visit the churches in an- 
other country beyond the sea, but thou wouldst not give her 
leave, so she shall be taken from thee ; and behold, the 
Lord's hand is against thee, and thou shalt be blasted in 
whatsoever thou doest, and reduced to want thy bread." 
The man seemed angry with John Richardson, who said to 
him, " Be still, and weigh the matter, for I knew not of 
the Friend's going to thy house ; but thought he was in 
bed, and did not inform him about thee nor thy wife;" at 
which he went away. 

" In about two weeks afterwards the man's wife, before 
mentioned, died, as Peter had foretold. At that time, the 
man had three ships at sea ; his son was master of one, and 
a second son was on board of another, and in their voyages 
they were all wrecked, or foundered, and their cargoes 
chiefly lost; his two sons and several of the hands being 
drowned. The man soon after broke and could not pay 
his debts, but came to want bread before he died, though 
he had been in good circumstances, if not very rich." 

On Peter Gardiner's return from this visit to Scotland, 
he was taken sick at Carlisle and there died. Whilst on 
his death-bed, John Bowstead relates, that "there came into 
the room one that was not a Friend, but under convictions 
in his heart ; Peter Gardiner asked me, as I sat upon the 
bedside by him, Who that was that came into the room? 
There being many, and most of them Friends, I said, This 
is a Friend. Ah ! said he, it is no Friend ; is it not such a 
one? so called him near, — and it was so. Peter Gardiner 
was so full of the small-pox, that he could not see at that 



1 N C 1 J) E X T S A X 1) R E F L E C T 1 N S . 329 

time. He then spoke to the young man, and said, Thou 
hast no peace in thy lying flown, nor in thy uprising ; 
therefore, I charge and warn thee in the name of the Lord 
my God, that thou speedily return, and draw near unto the 
Lord, whilst thou hast a day afforded thee. For now is the 
clay of thy visitation, and the Lord is still striving with 
thee; and if thou dost not return, thou wilt repent, when 
time will be too late with thee. I tell thee, thou wouldst 
be heir of two kingdoms, but wilt never obtain them both." 

A very striking illustration of the continuance in modern 
times of Divine revelation, is furnished by the case of Miles 
Halhead,* a minister among early Friends, who was com- 
mitted to prison by the Mayor of Berwick, for exhorting 
him in his own shop to desist from persecution. When 
brought before the court, the chief priest of the town desired 
permission of the court to ask him a question. To this 
Miles replied : 

"The Lord knows thy heart, O man! and at this present 
has revealed thy thoughts to his servant ; and therefore now 
I know thy heart also thou high priest, and the question thou 
wouldst ask me ; and if thou wilt promise me before the 
court, that if I tell thee the question thou wouldst ask me, 
thou wilt deal plainly with me, I will not only tell thee thy 
query, but I will answer it." The priest said he would, and 
then Miles proceeded : — " The question is this : thou wouldst 
know whether I own that Christ that died at Jerusalem, or 
not." To this the priest, wondering, said, "Truly, that is 
the question." Then Miles said, " According to my prom- 
ise I will answer it before the court. In the presence of the 
Lord God of Heaven, I own no other Christ than Him 
that died at Jerusalem, and made a good confession before 
Pontius Pilate, to be the Light and Way that leads fallen 
man out of sin and evil, up to God, eternal, blessed for 
evermore." 

* For further particulars concerning; this faithful servant of the Lord, 
see Sewel's History of the Quakers. 

28* 



330 I X C I D E X T S AND R E F L E G T 1 X g . 

In the lively Memoirs of John Roberts* another of the 
early Friends, who was willing to endure suffering for the 
Truth's sake, there is preserved an account of some inter- 
views which he had with the Bishop of Gloucester, a man 
who appears to have appreciated John's honest boldness 
and sincerity of character. At the last of these conferences 
the Bishop asked what it was that opened the heart of Lydia 
when she heard the preaching of Paul. John replied that 
it was the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, the same spiritual 
key that opened the hearts of all the holy patriarchs, proph- 
ets and apostles, in ages past, and "the same that must 
open thy heart, if ever thou comest to have it truly opened." 
The Bishop evidently felt the force of these remarks, for he 
replied : — " It is the truth, the very truth, I never heard it 
so defined before. John I have done you much wrong, I 
desire you to forgive me, and I'll never wrong you more." 
To this John replied, " I do heartily forgive thee, as far as 
it is in my power, and I truly pray the Father of mercies 
may forgive thee and make thee his. As to the latter part, 
that thou wilt never wrong me more, I am of the same 
mind with thee ; for it is in my heart to tell thee ; I shall 
never see thy face any more.'' 

The Bishop died soon after. 

This incident is the more striking from the fact that in 
the same conversation reference was made to the case of the 
jailor of Gloucester Castle, who had been very cruel to 
Friends, and illegally kept them in prison by not sending 
up their names for trial at the assizes. When at length this 
was discovered, the judge discharged the prisoners and 
very severely reprimanded him ; and the jailer was over- 
heard to say that if John Roberts ever came into the castle 
again he should never go out alive. The turnkey meeting 
with John begged him, if he could possibly avoid it not to 
come to the castle a prisoner whilst his master was jailer — 

* A. native of Gloucestershire, England. Died 1683. A man of a fear- 
less disposition, quick of understanding, and oi a devout spirit. .See 
Memoir, written by his son Daniel Roberts. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 331 

and John sent this message to him, " Tell him from me, I 
shall never see his face any more." Soon after, the narra- 
tive says, it pleased God to take him away by death. 

In these instances, it pleased the Lord to give to his faith- 
ful servant a sight of things which were shortly to come to 
pass. And such cases are more frequent than a sceptical 
generation are willing to admit. It is very needful to be on 
our guard that we do not mistake the excited imaginations 
of our own minds for Divine impressions ; yet the Christian 
would lose one of his great sources of comfort and hope, if 
he were deprived of his belief in the immediate communica- 
tion of the Divine will to him ; and of his confidence in a 
perceptible communion with his Creator and Redeemer. 

It has often happened that religiously-minded men, even 
among those who do not fully hold the doctrine of the neces- 
sity of experiencing the immediate guidance of the Holy 
Spirit in the exercise of the ministry of the Gospel, have 
been sensible on especial occasions of its extension leading 
them into a line of service quite different from that for which 
they had prepared, and in which they had expected to 
labor. 

In the life of Dr. Leifchild* it is related, that when he 
arose from sleep one First-day morning, he could not recol- 
lect any portion of the discourse which he had prepared the 
day before, nor even the text on which it was founded. He 
says : " I was perplexed, and walked before breakfast in 
Kensington Gardens, and there a particular text occurred to 
my mind, and my thoughts seemed to dwell so much upon 
it, that I resolved to preach from it, without further attempt- 
ing to remember what I had prepared, a thing which I had 
never attempted to do in all my ministry. From this text 
I preached, and it was, ' Weeping may endure for a night, 
but joy cometh in the morning.' I preached with great 

* An independent minister in London. A popular preacher, and 
author of several religious M-orks. 



332 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

liberty, and in the course of the sermon, I quoted the fol^ 
lowing lines : 

' Beware of desperate steps : the darkest day- 
Live till to-morrow, will have passed away.' 

I afterwards learned that a man in despair, had that very 
morning gone to the Serpentine to drown himself in it. 
Some passengers, however, disturbed him on the brink, and 
he returned to Kensington, intending to drown himself in 
the dusk of the evening. On passing the chapel, he saw a 
number of people crowding into it, and thought he would 
join them in order to pass away the time. His attention 
was riveted to the sermon, which seemed to be in part com- 
posed for him, and when he heard me quote the lines alluded 
to, he resolved to abandon his suicidal intentions." 

The following incident has reached me through two sepa- 
rate channels. It illustrates the peculiar manner in which 
the ministers of the Lord are sometimes led in the perfor- 
mance of their duty ; and also the weakness of the instru- 
ment when passing through those humbling seasons which 
often seem needful to prepare for service. 

^ Many years ago James Simpson visited a meeting in 
Chester ( ounty, Pennsylvania. He arrived at the house of 
a Friend named Eldridge, in the evening before. In the 
morning James did not make an appearance. When the 
Friend went to his room, he found him much discouraged 
(as was frequently the case with James Simpson), so that 
he thought lie was too unwell to get up and eat his break- 
fast. After much persuasion Ids host succeeded in getting 
him down stairs, telling him it would soon be time to start 
for meeting. James replied that it was not worth while to 
talk of that, as he could not go to the meeting. The Friend 
said, he must go, for the people had been invited to be pres- 
ent, and it would not do to disappoint them. On arriving 
at the house they found a large congregation gathered. 
After taking his seat, James' head soon dropped low, a posi- 
tion he was apt to as3ume when under much exercise of 
mind. At length he raised it, and startled the people by 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 833 

calling out in a loud voice, " How is butter going, and what 
is the price of eggs to-day ?" From this he enlarged, saying 
he feared some of them were more engaged in thinking of 
these things, and of their worldly concerns than of the things 
which pertain to their eternal welfare ; and spoke power- 
fully of the danger of being too much taken up with tem- 
poral business. 

The person who described the scene said, that by the time 
the discourse was ended he did not believe there was a dry 
eye in the house. 

The people in the neighborhood were at that time much 
in the way of attending markets in Philadelphia, with the 
produce of their farms ; and the question so startlingly uttered 
in their hearing by James Simpson, would naturally be 
very frequently in their minds and on their lips. 

James Simpson was an eminent minister of a past gen- 
eration, who resided a few miles north of Philadelphia. 
The nervousness and eccentricity of his temperament, are 
kept in remembrance by many amusing anecdotes, which 
are still narrated in social gatherings ; but notwithstand- 
ing these weaknesses, he was often greatly favored with 
Divine help in his labors, to the comfort and refreshment 
of his friends. Joseph Kite says of him, in the Arm 
Chair, — 

"Pilled by his Master, wondrously he shone: 
The emptied vessel scarce could stand alone." 

A few months before his decease, which occurred in the 
year 1811, he delivered a sermon at Frankford, which was 
somewhat peculiar in its style, and yet contained much in- 
struction. The following account of it has been preserved : 

" What I am now going to relate is but a simple story, 
and it is probable some of you may have heard me tell it 
before, but it has taken such possession of my mind, that I 
thought I would just drop it for your consideration. When 
I was a young man, there lived in our neighborhood a 



334 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

Presbyterian, who was universally reported to be a very 
liberal man, and uncommonly upright in his dealings. 
When he had any of the produce of his farm to dispose of, 
he made it an invariable rule to give good measure, over- 
good, rather more than could be required of him. One of 
his friends, observing his frequently doing so, questioned 
him why he did it, told him he gave too much, and said it 
could not be to his own advantage. Now, my friends, mark 
the answer of this Presbyterian — 'God Almighty has per- 
mitted me but one journey through the world ; and when 
gone, I cannot return to rectify mistakes.' Think of this, 
friends! 'But one journey through the world ;' the hours 
that are past are gone forever, and the actions of those 
hours can never be recalled. I do not throw it out as a 
charge, or mean to imply that any of you are dishonest : 
but the words of this good Presbyterian have often im- 
pressed my mind, and I think in an instructive manner. 
' But one journey,' we are allowed but one journey through 
the world ; therefore let none of us say, ' My tongue is my 
own, I'll talk what I please. My time is my own, I'll go 
where I please ; I can go to meetings, or if the world calls 
me, I'll stay at home, it's all my own.' Now, this won't do, 
friends, it is as impossible for us to live as we list, and then 
come here to worship, as it is for a lamp to burn without 
oil. It is utterly impossible. And I was thinking what a 
droll composition man is. He is a compound of bank-notes, 
dollars, cents and newspapers ; and, bringing as it were the 
world on his back, he comes here to perform worship, or at 
least would have it appear so. Now, friends, I just drop it 
before we pai't for your consideration. Let each one try 
himself, and see how it is with his own soul." 

While speaking of James Simpson, the following circum- 
stance may be introduced, which was related by him after 
his return from a religious visit in New England. It oc- 
curred whilst he was travelling in Rhode Island. 

"I was with a young doctor, whom I took to be a deist. 
I asked him if he was not a deist, and he frankly acknowl- 
edged that he was. I then told him, that I supposed it was 



I X C 1 D B N T'S AND K E V J, E C TI N S . 335 

of no use to talk with him about the Scriptures, for he did 
uot believe in them. His answer was, ' No sir, I do not.' 
' Well,' replied I, ' as it is reason thou bujldest upon, render 
me a reason for thy disbelief That he could readily do; 
' for,' said he, ' there are so many foolish, nonsensical pas- 
sages in them, that it is beneath a man of good understanding 
to believe them.' I then requested him to single out one of 
those foolish passages ; and the one he fixed on, was the 
woman being cured of a grievous disease by touching the 
hem of our Saviour's garment, which he considered foolish 
nonsense. I then told him, that I supposed he was well 
acquainted with the power of electricity. ' Yes,' he said, 
he was. ' Well,' said I, ' supposing thou had never seen or 
heard tell of it, and a stranger as I am should come from 
another country, and tell thee that he coulcbfill thee so full 
of fire, that another touching thy garment, the fire would 
fly out of thee into him ; wouldst thou not think it a foolish 
tale, that was not worth thy notice ?' After some pause, he 
said he thought he should. I then replied, 'If a man can 
be filled so lull of fire, that another touching his garment, 
the fire will go into him, as this we know to be the case, 
why not admit the Saviour of the world to be so filled with 
virtue, that another touching his garment, virtue should 
go out of Him into them ?' — at which he sat a considerable 
time silent. Finding he was in a better state to hear me, I 
asked him if he had never been sitting in his room, thinking 
little or nothing, not nothing, because thoughts are never 
quite still ; and all at once something alarms thee, perhaps 
it is a gun shot off out yonder, and so soon as that sound 
strikes thy ear, thy eye is turned to see, and when thy eye 
discovers it, thy nerves and members are at command to 
start up and go ! now, as thou art a physician and pretends 
to understand the human frame, render me a reason (as it 
is reason thou buildest upon) of this intelligence from the 
ear to the eye, and so on to thy other faculties. His answer 
was, ' O, sir, that is out of my reach ;' and finding him in a bet- 
ter state to hear than to talk, I went on from one thing to 
another, till I beat him as effectually out of his deism, I 
believe, as ever a man was beaten out of anything ; and I 
thought he loved me as well as ever he loved any man, for 



336 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

he followed me several hundred miles, assisting me in ap- 
pointing meetings where there were no Friends." 

There has been in the Christian world much conflict of 
opinion on the subject of proper maintenance of those who 
are called to labor as ministers of the Gospel. The Scrip- 
tures declare that a laborer is worthy of his hire ; and speak 
of those who sow spiritual things partaking of carnal things ; 
yet the command of our Saviour to those whom He sent 
forth to preach was imperative, " Freely ye have received, 
freely give." 

John Richardson* remarks that the outward maintenance 
of ministers, so far as depends on their hearers, is showed 
by Christ, who directed that where they were received, they 
should eat such things as were set before them. When the 
disciples returned from their mission, and were asked 
whether they had lacked anything, they answered "noth- 
ing." The effect of their ministry among their hearers had 
been such, that those who had been convinced by their doc- 
trine, and turned to the effectual power of Christ in them- 
selves, had from thence known their hearts so opened, as to 
administer to all their immediate necessities; and these, 
thus sent, had only eaten such things as were set before 
them, as they were appointed. 

In a conversation on this subject, it was urged, " that if 
the maintenance of the priests was to be wholly withdrawn, 
or left to the freedom and generosity of the people, many of 
them would want and come to poverty, and be forced to 
labor with their hands, which would distract or at least im- 
pede, their studies." To this, John Richardson replied : 

" That with such ministers as they were, this might be 
the case : but if all would come truly and rightly to wait 
on the great Teacher, the Anointing in themselves, it would 
* See note, p. 77, 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 337 

greatly tend to the advantage of Christendom ; for the 
Almighty, who by his good Spirit is alone able to raise up 
and qualify Gospel ministers, as He knows the wants of 
his people and their faith and trust in Him, would no doubt 
raise up from among them faithful ministers; such, who be- 
ing humble, meek and low in heart, like Him of whom they 
had learned, would be content to live in moderation on a 
little, and to labor in their respective callings, like the 
Apostle Paul, that great minister of the Gentiles, working 
with their hands that their ministry might not be charge- 
able, such as fishermen, collectors of customs, &c, whose 
ministry being not their own, but received immediately from 
the great Shepherd of the sheep, would not require much 
time and study to pen down, but coming from the Spirit of 
truth immediately moving upon the minister's heart, would 
be more effectual to reach the Witness of truth in the hearts 
of their hearers than all the labored discourses of the most 
subtle priest, though the produce of much pains and study. 
Neither have I found in all my travels from any observa- 
tion I have made, that ever the faithful ministers of Christ 
became any great burden or charge to the churches; for I 
have seen the Divine Providence attend the Lord's faithful 
servants, who thereby have been enabled to order their 
affairs with discretion, so as to want little." 

T. Story* relates a conversation with one who had made 
this remark, "No doubt but you have a good intent in what 
you do, in travelling so 'in the w r orld; but you must have 
some good considerations for it, as our priests have gold and 
silver ;" and mentioned about 300 guineas for that time. 
He says, " I told him, ' No ; we whom God had raised up, 
and qualified in some degree, in this age, to that service, 
were advanced above any such mean, base, and mercenary 
considerations, as to take anything from men for this labor; 
which we bestow freely in the love of God, and by his com- 
mandment, for the common good of men.' ' Why,' said he, 
' the apostles were but poor men, and wanted necessaries, 
and must have received of the people, or wanted.' ' True,' 
said I, ' but then they say, Having food and raiment, let us 

*See note, p. 111. 
29 



338 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

lie therewith content ; and where that is really the case, 
such as are poor among us we would not begrudge them 
thatj'but it is very seldom, or never so among us; but 
rather, with Paul, we can generally say, These hands of 
mine have ministered to my necessities, having no desire 
that any such thing should be done unto us ; and we gen- 
erally have sufficient of our own." 

"Then, said he, 'But in case your friends, after some very 
good sermon, that pleaseth a great congregation well and 
generally, should offer you a purse of 200 or 300 guineas, 
would not you accept it, being freely given?' 

" I replied, ' No ; I hope it would be no temptation, if so 
it were ; which never can be as long as they and I abide in 
the Truth we profess, either to give or receive that way. I 
should rather be greatly troubled to see so great a degen- 
eracy, as to subject them to so great an evil.' " 

In the year 1719 Thomas Story, in company with some 
other Friends, called on the Archbishop of Canterbury and 
other dignitaries, to solicit their favor in an application to 
Parliament for an amended form of affirmation to be used 
by Friends as a substitute for an oath. The maintenance 
of ministers coming up in their conversation, Thomas thus 
explained to him the practice of the Society of Friends. 

" When at any time we are sitting together in silence, 
(as we usually do) waiting upon the Almighty for the in- 
fluence of his Holy Spirit, that we may be comforted, 
refreshed and edified thereby ; if any one hath his under- 
standing enlightened thereby into any edifying matter, and 
moved and enabled to speak, the rest have proper qualifica- 
tions, by the same Spirit, to discern and judge, both of the 
soundness of his speech and matter, and also of the spirit 
and fountain from which his ministry doth arise ; and if from 
the Holy Spirit of Christ, who is Truth, it hath acceptance 
with the congregation, and though but in a few words, it is 
comfortable and edifying ; for as the palate tasteth meats, so 
the ear, or discerning faculties of an illuminated, sanctified 
mind, distinguisheth words, and the fountain from which 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 339 

they spring. And such a person thus appearing, may so 
appear at another time, and be enlarged in word and in 
power, and so on gradually, till he hath given proof of his 
ministry to his friends and brethren, among whom in the 
neighborhood, he hath been exercised therein, until he be- 
comes a workman in the gospel, in some good degree fitted 
for the service ; and then it may so happen, as often it doth, 
that this person is moved or called by the Word of God, to 
travel in this service in some other places remote from his 
habitation, which will take him off from his business whereby 
he maintains himself, his wife and family ; and suppose 
him to be a cobbler of old shoes, a patcher or translator of 
old clothes, or the meanest mechanic that can be named, 
poor, and not able to fit himself with common necessaries 
for his journey, he wanteth a horse, (though some only 
walk,) clothing and the like; in such a case the Friends of 
the meeting to which he belongs provide all such things 
and furnish him. And if in that service he is so long from 
home, as that his horse fails, and his clothes wear out, and 
necessaries are wanting unto him, then the Friends where 
he travels, where his service is acceptable, take care to fur- 
nish him till he returns to his family and business. And in 
the time of his absence from them, some Friend or Friends 
of the neighborhood visit his family, advise in his business, 
and charitably promote it till he return. But as to any 
other temporal advantages, or selfish motive of reward for 
such service, there is no such thing among us : for if our 
ministers had the least view that way, and insisted upon it, 
or our people were willing to gratify that desire, we should 
then conclude we were gone off from the true foundation of 
Christ and his apostles, and become apostates. But though 
our principles allow such assistance to our ministers as I have 
related ; yet I have not known any instance (save one) of 
any such help : for, by the good providence of God, our 
ministers have generally sufficient of their own to support 
the charge of their travels in that service, and are unwilling 
that the gospel should be chargeable to any ; only as their 
ministry makes way where they come, their company is ac- 
ceptable to their friends, who afford them to eat and drink 



340 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

and lodge with them for a night or two, more or less, as 
there may be occasion." 

It is often a trial of faith to those who are but poorly 
supplied with this world's goods, to .be called upon to sacri- 
fice of their time and means to the Lord's cause. But they 
who are in earnest in seeking first the kingdom of Heaven 
and the righteousness thereof, will be strengthened to obey 
the Divine requisitions, and be enriched with the reward of 
peace ; whether their outward possessions increase or not. 

The record which Joseph Hoag,* has left of his experience 
in his younger years, is instructive. He says: 

" We were married when I was a little past twenty years 
of age, and the spring following commenced house-keeping; 
being poorly provided with things necessary for farming, 
which rendered my situation embarrassed. I often felt my 
mind drawn to visit neighboring meetings, and sometimes 
those more distant, which gave uneasiness to some who con- 
cluded that it could hardly be required of me to leave home 
so often, considering my limited circumstances ; and that 
in so doing, instead of keeping more strictly to business in 
order to provide for my family, room would be given for 
others to fix the stigma upon me of being a forward person, 
which might be injurious to my services. These reasonings 
brought a great exercise of mind, and bore me down exceed- 
ingly, until the Lord helped me, and enabled me to see with 
clearness, that there was no room to scruple the manifesta- 
tions with which He had favored me ; speaking thus intelli- 
gibly to my spiritual ear : ' I, the Lord, hold all the treas- 
ures of the creation in my hand, and I can blast all the 
endeavors, contrivances and wisdom of man, and give bread 
to the hungry, and water to the needy. When didst thou 
ever see the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread? 
Obey thou my voice, and not that of man, and thy bread 
and thy water shall be sure, thy family shall be fed of my 
bounty, and ta u en better care of than thou art able to take 
of them.' * * These openings in the Light revived me, 

*Kee note, p. 100. 



I N/C 1 I ) K N T S A ND K E P L E C T IONS. >54 1 

and encouraged me to press forward with renewed confidence 
in the Lord." 

True religion not only preserves the mind from being 
swallowed up in outward cares, but it also leads to industry 
and a proper attention to the ordinary duties of life. 

In the Memorial respecting that zealous minister of the 
Gospel, Daniel Stanton,* issued by the Monthly Meeting of 
Friends of Philadelphia, it is said : " He was very exemplary 
in his industry and diligence, in laboring faithfully at his 
trade, to provide for his own support, and, after he married 
and had children, for their maintenance; and was often 
concerned to advise others to the same necessary care ; yet 
he continued fervent in spirit for the promotion of truth 
and righteousness." 

Daniel himself says : " I wrought hard at my outward 
calling when at home, yet not so much confined but that I 
kept close to religious meetings ; in which the good presence 
of Christ, our dear Lord, would many times overshadow 7 them, 
and I have had to sit under the shadow thereof with great 
delight ; and after such precious meetings with his people, 
I found my mind better qualified to attend to my necessary 
business and the affairs of life." 

In another place, after describing a religious visit to New 
England, he adds: "After I came home I kept close ^to 
meetings, and faithfully labored in that ability God giveth, 
being much concerned for the prosperity of his glorious 
work amongst us ; my outward endeavors were also blessed, 
as I kept to industry, and I always found it best to be dili- 
gent and not slothful in business, yet fervent in spirit, serv- 
ing the Lord." 

At another time, when travelling in the Southern States, 
he mentions being at a meeting at Dann's Creek, of which 
he remarks, " it was a laborious time, and I wish it may 
have a good effect on the minds of the people, for I trust 

* See note, p. 34. 

29* 



•!42 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

they were faithfully warned both on account of their sloth- 
fulness in the things of God, and the things of this world." 

This hint of the nature of his concern for the people of 
Dann's Creek, brings to mind the remark made by John 
Parker* of Chester County, Pa., after his return from a 
religious visit in a section of country where the people mani- 
fested too much slothfulness. The substance of it was, that 
usually he had felt a concern to labor with his hearers to 
bring them out of the earth, but on this visit he had been 
concerned to exhort them to enter into it. 

In his diligence in business, Daniel Stanton followed the 
example of the great Apostle Paul, who, by the labor of his 
hands, ministered to his own necessities, and to those of his 
companions. The habit of industry is good for all, and it 
is especially valuable to those who are called to the work of 
the ministry. The restraints of outward business, when not 
carried to excess, tend to steady a man's course, and prevent 
him from falling in with every suggestion of the imagina- 
tion as to religious service. I remember hearing one, who 
had had much experience in the work of the ministry, say, 
that some of his precious seasons of Divine communion and 
of pointings to religious labor had been dispensed while he 
was following the plough. 

Many of those who have been eminent as ministers, have 
been laborious in both spiritual and temporal things. Among 
these was John Banks,t one of the early Gospel laborers in 
the north of England. In his Journal, he says: — 

" In my native county in Cumberland, and also in many 
places elsewhere, it is well known to Friends, with what 
diligence I labored among them in the work of the Gospel, 

* A minister among Friends, who resided in Chester County, Penn- 
sylvania. Died in 1K29, in the eighty-first year of his age. f?ee Memor- 
ials of deceased Friends of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. 

i see Friends' Library, vol. 2, p. 1, etc 



INCIDENTS AND ItEELEOTIONS . 343 

early and late, far and near, to much hardship to my body, 
in heat and cold ; and yet, through the strength and ability 
given me of God, I was preserved in and through all, hav- 
ing faith therein. And with all diligence, when I was at 
home, I labored with my hands, with honest endeavors and 
lawful employments, for the maintenance of my family." 

In another place, he says: — "In temporal things as well 
as spiritual, diligence must be used, with a Godly care and 
honest endeavors, with what labor and pains the body is able 
to answer ; which always was my concern when at home ; 
but still in and through all to have a true regard to God in 
our hearts ; this is the way to bring a blessing and increase 
upon idl our endeavors." 

To the same purport is a letter of counsel to his wife, in 
which he thus advises : — " The Lord be with thee and thine, 
and comfort and refresh thy soul in the assemblies of his 
people ; with whom meet as- often as thou can'st, First- 
day and week-day, with the rest of the family, for thou 
knowest it was always my care when present ; wherefore, I 
did rise early and sit up late, and worked and labored with 
all diligence, that the same might be effected according to 
the desire of my heart ; and that through diligence in lawful 
business, with the blessing of the Lord, I might also provide 
for and maintain thee with the children in decent and 
comely order, according to truth and my ability." 

The union of fervency of spirit with industry in business, 
indicated in some of the preceding passages, is shown in the 
memoranda of John Simpson,* a brother of James, and like 
him, a minister of the gospel. He says : 

" Let us often retire into silent meditation, even when 
our hands are engaged in labor, this has been an unspeaka- 
ble comfort to me, when I saw no other way to do justly, 
than to work harder than some might think right, rising early 

*A minister araong Friends. He removed from. Bucks County, 
Pennsylvania, to Ohio, in 1810, and died there in 1811, aged seventy-two 
years. See Memorials of Deceased Friends of Philadelphia Yearly 
Meeting. 



•'144 L N C I D EN T S A N U HE F L E C T I N S . 

and lying down late. But the Lord was my portion to whom 
I could appeal, "Thou knowest I wish to do right;" and 
though my slips were many, yet He who seeth not as man, 
often replenished my heart with a measure of his heavenly 
grace ; and to this 'day, I am made thankful that I have 
been industrious." 

In one of John Simpson's letters, this passage occurs: — 
"These long wilderness journeys have been trying in younger 
life, and in all probability will be more so when advanced 
in years. Yet this is trifling in comparison with life eternal 
and the good of souls, for which I have for the most part of 
thirty years labored diligently, during which time my own 
hands have ministered to my necessities, working day and 
night rather than to make the gospel chargeable ; and the 
Lord has blessed me in basket and in store." 

As the Lord only knoweth the hearts of men, and what 
will be useful to them in the way of doctrine, exhortation or 
reproof on any occasion, such as a gathering for Divine 
worship : it is unsafe for any to undertake to teach the peo- 
ple, except as their minds are illuminated by the heavenly 
gift, their spirits clothed with a true concern, and they made 
sensible of the call to service. Hence it has often hap- 
pened that ministers have found the way closed for vocal 
service, even when the people have been called together at 
their request for the purpose of worship. 

Thomas Story* in his journal, mentions holding a " meet- 
ing at Bishops-town in a barn, where some of the town's 
people came in : but, to me," he says, " the meeting was verv 
dull and dead a long time ; and after some Friends had 
spoke what was in their minds, the meeting was silent awhile, 
and then I stood up and told them, ' That there had not 
been more mischief done among the children of men by any 
one thing, in most ages of the world, than by men's running 
in the name of God as his messengers, when He did not 
send them ; who not only did not profit the people at all, 
*See note, p. 111. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 345 

as set. forth in the twenty-third chapter of Jeremiah, but 
did much hurt by misguiding them ; and though it might 
look strange to some, a meeting being appointed and the 
people invited, that I said nothing ; yet as no consideration 
arising that way ought to prevail with me to run in my own 
will, to speak of the things of God among them ; so it might 
be better both for them and me, I were silent than do it. 
For though the Apostle was come to so clear a distinction 
in himself, as to be able to say, " This say I, and not the 
Lord;" and again, "Thus saith the Lord, and not I;" this 
I, without the Lord, having in many others done so much 
hurt, I would rather at that time hazard their censure, and 
what might follow from thence, than be too busy with 
the things of God where He did not concern me. For 
though the day befoi*e, and many other times, I had been 
rightly concerned from the Lord ; yet it did not follow that 
I might employ myself that day when the Lord did not 
fit me, and require it at :ny hand, lest instead of comfort I 
should procure reproof from Him ; and, in seeking my own 
honor, dishonor the Lord, and so become a transgressor.' " 

Joseph Hoag* relates that when he was about thirteen 
years old, he listened to a conversation between some old men 
about a Methodist minister that had recently visited them. 
They all agreed that he was an able minister, and believed 
that the Lord had sent him. In their neighborhood he said 
but little, and informed the audience that he could not preach 
any more, and dismissed them ; which disappointed them 
very much, and they thought it was not right, and that 
he ought to be talked to. 

As Joseph sat listening to them, a solemn feeling came 
over his mind, and, under an impression of Divine requir- 
ing he told them ; that if the Lord sent the minister, the 
Lord knew best what He wanted him to preach, since He 
knew the state of the people. If the man preached any. 
more than the Lord gave him, it would only be man's preach- 
ing, and might not be suitable to the states of any of the 
meeting ; they ought to be careful therefore how they med- 
dled with him, seeing it was his duty to mind the Lord who 

* See note, p. 100. 



346 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

sent him out. If, by their talking to him, he should preach 
more than the Lord gave him to preach, then he would 
turn from pleasing the Lord to pleasing man ; this might 
offend the Lord, that He might take away the gift of the 
ministry from him. 

The men were so impressed with the correctness of these 
sentiments that they concluded to withhold what they had 
intended saying to the minister. 

In the life of William Bray,* a member of the Bible 
Christians in Cornwall, England, the following incident is 
related : " When I was in the St. Neot Circuit, I was on the 
plan ; and I remember that one Sunday I was planned at 
Redgate, and there was a chapel full of people, and the 
Lord gave me great power and liberty in speaking ; but all 
at once the Lord took away his Spirit from me, so that I 
could not speak a word : and this might have been the best 
sermon that some of them ever heard. ' What !' you say, 
' and looking like a fool and not able to speak ?' ' Yes,' for 
it was not long before I said, ' I am glad I am stopped, and 
that for three reasons. And the first is, To humble my soul 
and make me feel more dependent on my Lord, to think 
more fully of Him and less of myself. The next reason is, 
To convince you that you are ungodly, for you say we 
can speak what we have a mind to, without the Lord as 
well as with Him ; but you cannot say so now, for you heard 
how I was speaking, but when the dear Lord took away 
his Spirit I could not say another word ; without my Lord, 
I could do nothing." 

John Church man ,f relates that in a meeting at Egg 
Harbor, — " I stood up with a large opening as I thought, 
but after a short introduction it closed up, and I sat down 
again, which was some mortification to me as a man, though 
very profitable." 

Again, at the time of a Yearly Meeting at Flushing, Long 
Island, John Churchman remarks, " On First-day I thought 
I had an engagement to stand up, and considerable matter 

* See note, p. 166. 
t See note, p. 14. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 347 

before me, and after speaking three or four sentences which 
came with weight, all closed up, and I stood still and silent 
for several minutes, and saw nothing more, not one word to 
speak. I perceived the eyes of most of the people were 
upon me, they, as well as myself expecting more ; but nothing 
further appearing, I sat down, I think I may say in reverent 
fear and humble resignation, when that remarkable sentence 
of Job was presented to my mind, ' Naked came I out of 
my mother's womb, and naked shall I return ; the Lord 
gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name 
of the Lord.' I suppose for nearly a quarter of an hour I 
remained in a silent quiet; but afterwards let in great 
reasonings and fear lest I had not waited the right time to 
stand up, and so was suffered to fall into reproach ; for the 
adversary who is ever busy and unwearied in his attempts 
to devour, persuaded me to believe that the people would 
laugh me to scorn, and I might as well return home imme- 
diately and privately, as attempt any further visit on the 
island. After meeting I hid my inward exercise and dis- 
tress as much as I could. I lodged that night with a sympa- 
thizing friend and experienced elder, who began to speak 
encouragingly to me, but I said to him that I hoped he 
would not take it amiss if I desired him to forbear saying 
anything ; for if he should say good things, I had no capacity 
to believe, and if otherwise, I could not then understand so 
as to be profitably corrected or instructed, and after some 
time I fell asleep. When I awoke, I remembered that 
the sentences I had delivered in the meeting, were truths 
which could not be wrested to the disadvantage of Friends, 
or dishonor of the cause of truth, though they might look 
like roots or something to paraphrase upon ; and although 
my standing some time silent before I sat down, might 
occasion the people to think me a silly fellow, yet they had 
no cause to blame me for delivering words without sense or 
life. Thus I became very quiet, and not much depressed, 
and was favored with an humble resignation of mind, and 
a desire that the Lord w T ould be pleased to magnify his own 
name and truth, and preserve me from bringing any reproach 
thereon." 



348 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

After attending some other meetings in that section of 
country, at most of -which he says he had good satisfaction, 
John Churchman thus refers to his experience at Flushing: 

"That humbling time I had at Flushing was of singular 
service to me, being thereby made Avillingly subject to the 
Divine openings of truth, the motion of the eternal Spirit 
and pure Word of life, in speaking to the several states of 
those who were present in the meetings, and life came into 
dominion, and the power thereof overshadowed at times, to 
my humble admiration ; blessed be the name of the Lord, 
who is worthy for ever and ever!" 

When ministers are travelling in religious service, it is 
often important that their minds should not be pre-occupied 
with information as to the state of things among those they 
are visiting. They are more likely to depend on the fresh 
openings of Truth, in their communications to the people ; 
and the word spoken will have more place with the hearers 
than it would if they supposed it to be the result of previ- 
ously formed impressions. An interesting illustration of 
this is furnished by Joseph Hoag's,* experience, when visit- 
ing in Canada, in 1807. At West Lake he says : 

We put up at a Friend's house where a number soon 
came in. I felt that I could not stay in the house in peace. 
The sun being yet two hours high I walked into the woods, 
and did not return until after dark, when I found the house 
clear of its company. The next day at meeting, I was led 
in the course of my testimony to speak of high professors 
taking advantage of the necessities of the poor, screwing 
them down and grinding the faces of the needy. I had to 
make some close remarks on the subject; and not feeling 
easy nor clear of the place, we appointed a meeting in the 
afternoon. Many people came. There, I had to take up 
the subject at large, and show that the rich had it in their 
power to wipe the tear from the widow's eye, and make the 

* See note, p. 100. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 349 

fatherless sing for joy, and their hearts to bless them ; that 
the honest and industrious poor ought to be helped ; that 
this would be acting as ministers for the Lord to the poor. 
But while the rich were taking the advantage of the poor 
to increase their hoards, they caused the poor to mourn, the 
widow to weep, and the fatherless to cry for want, by their 
adding grief to sorrow, and vexation to those already in 
trouble, so that in vain is the profession of such ! The Lord 
will have no respect to your offering, until you can stretch 
out your hands to the poor, to relieve their woes. The 
word of Truth went forth in such authority, that all opposi- 
tion fell before it ; the meeting was broken into tenderness, 
and many to weeping— a solemn, humbling time. May the 
Lord bless it to the people, and to the praise of his own 
name ! 

After we left there, I was informed that those who were 
at the house where we first went, were gathered on account 
of an arbitration between a rich Friend and a poor man. 
They sat by and heard the investigation, and it was made 
to appear that the Friend had taken unjust advantage of him 
several ways, and screwed him down cruelly ; and when the 
award was brought in, the Friend refused compliance, and 
went off offended. This was whilst I was in the woods. 
Both parties were at the meetings. It was said the Friend 
came forward the next day to settle the matter. Thus I 
had a hope that some good was done, and in humility ad- 
mired the tender care of the Lord in leading me into the 
forest solitary and alone, so that I heard nothing of it until 
I got away from them." 

When John Churchman* was travelling in the north of 
England, he joined with a committee of Pardsay Hall 
Monthly Meeting in a visit to their families. He says: 
" Before the service was much proceeded in, a heavy concern 
came upon me from a secret sense I had, that one of them 
was under the censure of some, by which I feared her service 
would be laid Avaste, unless it could be removed. Although 
I had no intimation of anything of the kind from any per- 
son, I became heavily exercised, and at length requested a 
* See note, p. 14. 
30 



350 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

Friend to invite the man and his wife to dine with him, 
who I apprehended were uneasy with the woman, and I 
desired her and her husband to come to the same house in 
the afternoon, who accordingly came, and thus the parties 
met unexpectedly to each other. I was humbled under the 
weight attending my mind, and no others being present 
except the Friend and his wife at whose house we were, I 
ventured to let them know the exercise I had been under 
some days, from an apprehension of a difference or prejudice 
subsisting between them, which, if not removed, Avould devour 
like fire, by which I believed they were already much affected. 
As I had not received information, more or less, I might be 
mistaken, and did not desire they should say anything on 
the subject before me, but honestly confer on it between 
themselves first, and if it was so, remove the cause, and if 
nothing was amiss, then to let me know, that I might be 
warned to be more cautious in future. I then left them and 
walked by myself about an hour, when the man of the house 
called me in, and they told me I was not mistaken, for there 
had been an hardness subsisting for some time, which they 
hoped was now done away/' 

To these interesting illustrations of the clearness of that 
Divine guidance with which the attentive servant of the 
Lord is often favored in the performance of the services 
required of him, may be subjoined another drawn from the 
experience of the same Friend. When visiting families at 
Edenderry, in Ireland, he says : 

I asked the Friend who accompanied us, whether there 
was any other Friend's house to which we had not been ; he 
said he thought not. My mind had a draught to some 
house, and I pointed towai'd it, he then said he believed he 
knew where ; so we went to the place, and the family being 
called together, I inquired whether there was not another 
belonging to the house, and was told there was. As soon as 
he came, I knew it was the man whom my mind was con- 
cerned to visit, and something I had to express reached and 
tendered him very much, he being exceedingly wild and 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 351 

fashionable, and did not love to attend religious meetings, 
but truth now reached him. On the First-day following I 
saw him at Edenderry meeting, where the visitation seemed 
to be renewed to him ; I afterwards heard that he continued 
to be sober and thoughtful, and I was thankful to the Lord 
that He was pleased to condescend in mercy to gather the 
outcast of Israel. 

The most cogent train of reasoning, and the most earnest 
appeals that a preacher can make will have little or no 
effect in awakening a sinner to true repentance, or in pro- 
moting the spiritual welfare of his hearers, unless it be 
accompanied bj^ a measure of that Divine power which the 
Lord alone can dispense. Where the preacher rs careful 
to minister only in the authority and under the direction of 
the Head of the Church, he may safely leave the results in 
his Master's hand, who has declared that his word shall ac- 
complish that which He pleases, and shall prosper in the things 
whereto He sends it. We are prone to place too much re- 
liance on words themselves and to look more to the preachers 
than to the quickening Spirit which must give force to their 
expressions. Yet there is a ministry without words — a 
communion of spirits in which refreshment and consolation 
spreads from one person to others, without anything being 
said. Thomas Story* describes an interesting occurrence 
of this kind, when speaking of the first meeting he attended 
among the Society of Friends. He says : — 

" Not long after I had sat down among them, . that 
heavenly and watery cloud overshadowing my mind, broke 
into a sweet, abounding shower of celestial rain, and the 
greatest part of the meeting was broken together, dissolved 
and comforted in the same divine and holy presence and 
influence of the true, holy and heavenly Lord ; which was 
divers times repeated before the meeting ended. And in 
the same way, by the same divine and holy Power, I had 

*See note, p. 111. 



352 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

been often favored with before, when alone; and when no eye 
but that of Heaven, beheld, or any knew, but the Lord him- 
self; who, in infinite mercy, had been pleased to bestow so 
great a favor. 

"And as the many small springs and streams, descending 
into a proper place, and forming a river, become more deep 
and weighty ; even so, thus meeting with a people gathered 
of the living God into a sense of the enjoyment of his divine 
and living presence, through that blessed and holy medium, 
the mind of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Saviour of 
the world, I felt an increase of the same joy of the salva- 
tion of God." 

This spiritual communion may take place not only Avhere 
individuals are gathered into solemn silence ; but it may be 
experienced where the gospel is preached in a language un- 
known to the hearer, who yet may be made sensible of the 
gospel authority which accompanies the words spoken. Of 
the truth of this, there is abundant testimony. 

When Thomas Story was in America, coming to Phila- 
delphia, he had a meeting at Myrion (Merion) with the 
Welsh Friends who had settled there ; among whom, he 
says, "I was much satisfied : For several of them appearing 
ia testimony in the British tongue, which I did not under- 
stand ; yet being from the Word of truth in them, as instru- 
ments moved thereby, / icas as much refreshed as if it had 
hen in my own language ; which confirmed me in what I 
had thought before, that where the Spirit is the same in the 
preacher and hearer, and is the Truth, the refreshment is 
chiefly thereby, rather than by the form of words or lan- 
guage, to all that are in the same spirit at the same time. 
And this is the universal language of the Spirit, known and 
understood in all tongues and nations, to them that are born 
of Him." 

Some years after this, when in Wales, he met with an 
old Friend, named John Bevan, whom he accompanied to a 
meeting at Pontapool. There, John Bevan spoke in Welsh. 
T. Story remarks : — 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 358 

" Though I understood not the language, yet was much 
comforted in the Truth all the time ; by which I perceived 
his ministry was from that ground. His speech flowed very 
free and smooth, carrying a proportion and satisfaction to 
the ear, not easily expressed : For though the languages of 
men differ very greatly, yet the language of Truth as to the 
comfort of it, is one in all nations ; hut the matters receive 
various forms as the languages differ." 

The late Robert Scotton* of Frankford, Philadelphia, 
*pent several years among the Indians on the Allegheny 
Reservation in Western New York, laboring for their wel- 
fare. He was asked on one occasion as to the religious 
character of the Indians — whether any permanent spiritual 
results were to be expected among them. In his reply, he 
said that when he lived among them, it was his custom after 
breakfast on First-day morning to walk out for some dis- 
tance from the house, and then return in time for a meet- 
ing; or, if alone, for a silent sitting by himself waiting on 
the Lord. In one of those early walks, as he passed an 
Indian cabin, he heard the voice of the woman who in- 
habited it, engaged in supplication. She knew not of his 
nearness, as she poured out her soul unto the Lord ; nor did 
he know enough of the language to understand her petition : 
but he was seldom if ever more sensible of the spirit of 
prayer being perceptibly felt than on that occasion. 

The incidents above related need not seem strange to us, 
if we reflect that words of themselves cannot furnish spiritual 
instruction and refreshment to the hearers, but that these 
depend on the Divine power that accompanies them. 

It is the evidence of spiritual life, and not the eloquence 
of words, that satisfies the mind. For the arising of this 
Life in the heart, the experienced Christian longs and 

*A minister among Friends, who resided at Frankford, Philadel- 
phia. Died in 1860, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. 

30* 



•554 I N C I D E N T g AND REFLECTIONS. 

waits ; and to it, he calls the attention of those for whose 
welfare he is concerned. Richard Shackleton * writing to 
his daughter Margaret in 1773, thus expresses his earnest 
desires : — 

" Mayst thou, dear child, be preserved in simplicity and 
nothingness of self ; in humility and lowliness of mind, seek- 
ing diligently after, and waiting steadily for, the inward 
experience of that which is unmixedly good. This is the 
way to be helped along from day to day, through one diffi- 
culty and proving after another, to the end of our weari- 
some pilgrimage ; having recourse, like the hunted hart, to 
the brook by the way, when pressed by our spiritual 
enemies. By this, my dear child, the predecessors in our 
family, who lived in the truth, were enabled to wade through 
their afflictions, and knew that overcoming which entitles 
to the glorious, eternal rewards." 



CHAPTER XII. 

Religious Meetings. Individual Labor. Drowsiness. George Withy. 
William Hunt. Grace at Table. John Richardson. David Ferris. 
Meat vetsus Bones. Dr. Manton's Sermon. Balaam's Ministry. Re- 
ligious Opportunities. John Richardson at Bermuda. Thomas Story 
at Bristol. Cuthbert Featherstone. Sarah Grubb and Ann Baker. 
Joseph Oxley. Religious Controversy. Thomas Story and Dr. Gil- 
pin. Thomas Story and a Priest. Job Scott and a Baptist Preacher. 
Isaac Penington. A Crooked Spirit. Religious Conversation. Wil- 
liam Lewis. Richard Shackleton. The Two Merchants. The Teach- 
er's Influence. 

Though our Saviour has promised to be in the midst of 
those who are gathered in his name, yet it is not always 
that He manifests his presence in religious assemblies by the 
outpouring of comfort and sensible refreshment. For wise 

* See note. p. I9i. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 600 

purposes, no doubt, He sometimes permits even those who 
sincerely desire to worship Him, to wrestle long for a bless- 
ing ; and the careless and indifferent are often " sent empty 
away." Thomas Story* says of a meeting he had in Vir- 
ginia, that it was " very small, hard, dark and dull ;" and 
he attributes it to the fact, that "the people were busy 
planting tobacco, and those that came to the meeting left 
their minds behind them in that business." 

In the course of his American journey, he was at Salem, 
Massachusetts, in the year 1699, where, he says, "part of 
my testimony was against a sleepy state in some, and a 
wandering spirit in others ; which I perceived infested and 
hurt that meeting, and hindered the growth of several. It 
was a tender, comfortable meeting ; and I was told after- 
wards, there was great need of such a testimony : and one 
ancient Friend confessed, with tears, that he had received 
great hurt in meetings by a wandering spirit ; which draws 
away the mind from a true and sincere waiting upon God, 
by insensible degrees, and hinders the progress of the mind 
in the Truth, and the true worship." 

How many there are of us at the present day, who could 
(if we were so disposed) make the same confession as this 
aged Friend, and acknowledge, that our minds were often 
drawn away " from a true and sincere waiting upon God," 
by a wandering spirit ! May we all heed the exhortation 
which T. S. was concerned to give at Hampton Meeting, 
where (as at Salem,) he bore testimony against a drowsy, 
lukewarm, and indifferent spirit. Here he exhorted, " The 
old convinced not to rest in that condition, lest they might 
lose their crowns, and become stumbling blocks in the way 
of the weak, then under convincement : And to the young, 
that they should mind the Lord alone ; and that if they 

* See note, p. 111. 



356 I N C I D B R T 8 A .XIi RE F L E C T I N S . 

should espy anything in any one, who had for a long or 
short time professed the truth, either in conversation or in 
meetings ; whether in the vanity of the one, or indifference 
of the other ; or in coming to meetings, or negligence when 
in them, they should not look out at the failings of others, 
but to the Lord for help ; to whom we must all stand or fall, 
and answer for ourselves, and not for another." 

The object of religious meetings is the performance of Di- 
vine worship, which, as our Saviour told the woman of Sama- 
ria, must be in spirit and in truth. It is not therefore at all 
essential that there should be anything uttered on such 
occasions ; but the duty of those assembled is to turn their 
minds inward, and endeavor to feel the solemnizing presence 
of the Lord. In this way meetings may be profitably held, 
whether any ministers are present or not. Indeed, it has 
been a frequent experience, that where the expectation of 
the people is much turned to those who sometimes speak in 
the congregations, it lias a tendency to close up the spring 
of true Gospel ministry. 

The observation has sometimes been made, that meetings 
which contained a body of sound and religiously concerned 
members, but none in the station of minister, more frequent- 
ly retained their place as vigorous branches of the Church ; 
than those meetings which were favored with a lively gospel 
ministry. The reason given for this is, the tendency in the 
mind* of the people to depend upon the labors of the minis- 
ter for their spiritual comfort and refreshment, and thus 
gradually to slide away from a state of wrestling for the 
Heavenly blessing. The inevitable result of this is - a dwin- 
dling in the life of religion. Gospel ministry is undoubtedly 
a great blessing to the Church, and is designed to instruct, 
edify and comfort the flock of Christ ; but, like other bless- 
ings, we may fail to use it to the best advantage. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 357 

When assembled to wait upon and worship the Lord, if 
we are not careful to maintain a religious exercise of mind, 
and sincerely to wrestle in spirit for a blessing ; the minds 
of some will wander off to the very ends of the earth ; and 
others, whose constitutional temperament is different, will 
become drowsy. The two classes are equally deficient in 
the performance of the duty for which they were convened ; 
but the neglect of the latter is the more conspicuous to 
observers. Many anecdotes are preserved of the cautions 
and rebukes extended to such ; and some of them might 
indicate that the speakers had read the advice of Paul to 
Titus, to rebuke the Cretans sharply. 

An anecdote of George Withy,* that has often been re- 
lated in social circles, shows that he at times carried a keen- 
edged weapon. When in this country on a religious visit, 
he was at a meeting where a drowsy spirit was manifested. 
At last he arose and delivered an awakening sermon, sub- 
stantially as follows : " If Friends would bring their pillows 
with them to meeting, they could sleep much more com- 
fortably." 

Somewhat different was the method adopted by William 
Huntf to arouse a lethargic audience. He had risen to 
preach, but stopped, and stamped loudly on the floor three 
times. When the attention of the people was fully awakened 
by this unusual proceeding in a Friends' meeting, the preacher 
remarked, that when he saw people in danger of going to 
sleep, he felt himself justified in using any means to awaken 
them. He then went on with his discourse. 

It is right to cultivate a thankful disposition, and to bear 
in mind how much we owe to the Lord who giveth us richly 
all things to enjoy. Hence the propriety of the practice of 
lifting up our hearts in gratitude to our heavenly Father, 

* See note, p. 245. 

t A minister among Friends from North Carolina. He died of small 
pox in 1772, while in England on a religious visit. 



358 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

before partaking of the food set before us. From the fre- 
quent recurrence of these seasons there is danger of their de- 
generating into a mere form, in which a momentary outward 
silence is observed, but no effort used to place ourselves 
mentally in the presence of our Creator. There are many 
seriously minded persons who habitually make use of a form 
of prayer on such occasions, offering vocal thanks for the 
bounties set before them. To this practice, there is this 
serious objection, that true prayer can only be offered when 
the heart is prepared by the power of the Lord's spirit ; and 
to offer it with the lip only, when the heart is not quick- 
ened by a fresh visitation of grace, is worse than useless. 

When John Richardson* was still a boy, his mother mar- 
ried a man who was a zealous Presbyterian. He says in his 
journal : " The God of love and pity saw me and helped me 
in my distress, * * when I came to my father's house, 
he being a man much given to family duties of saying 
grace, &c, before and after meat, none of which I could 
comply with, except I felt evidently the Spirit of truth to 
attend therein, and open the heart and mouth into such 
duties. The first day I came to the house, being called to 
the table with all or most of our family, I thought, ' Is it 
now come to this ? I must either displease my Heavenly or 
earthly father. But oh ! the awfulness or deep exercise 
which was upon my spirit, and strong cries that ascended 
unto the Lord for my help and preservation, that I might 
not offend Him. My father-in-law sat with his hat partly 
on and partly off, with his eyes fixed on me, as likewise 
mine were on him in much fear ; so we continued as long or 
longer than he used to be in saying grace, as they call it, 
but said nothing that we heard ; so at length he put on his 
hat again, to the wonder of the family ; neither did he 
then, or ever after, ask me why I did not put off my hat ; 
neither did he perform that ceremony all the time I stayed 
with him, which was above one year. Thus the Lord 

*S>ee note, p. 77. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 359 

helped me, renowned be his great name now and forever. 
* * I saw clearly, that there could not be any true and 
acceptable worship performed to God, but what was in 
the Spirit and in the truth, neither could any pray aright, 
but as the Spirit helped them, which teacheth how to pray 
and what to pray for, and rightly prepares the mind and 
guides it in the performance of every service which the 
Lord calls for from his children." 

In another part of his journal, John Richardson relates, 
that when on the Bermudas Islands, he was invited to dine 
at a Friend's house, and when they were seated at the table, 
"the woman of the house desired that one of us would say 
grace ; from which I took an occasion to show her, and 
several more in the company, who appeared not much more 
grown in the Truth than she, that since we had been a 
people we had both believed (and accordingly practised) 
that true prayer was not performed without the help of the 
Holy Spirit of God; and no man could pray aright and 
acceptably without it ; nor was it in man's power to have it 
when he pleased ; therefore it is man's place to wait upon 
the Lord for the pouring forth of this gift upon him ; and 
also to know whether it be required of him to pray, so as to 
be heard by man, or only to pray secretly, so as to be heard 
of God, as did Hannah, and many more have done; which, 
as they do aright, no doubt but as Christ said to his dis- 
ciples, their Father will hear them in secret and reward them 
openly." 

In connection with this subject may be quoted a remark 
made by David Ferris,* that in the early part of his relig- 
ious experience he thought as a child and understood as a 
child respecting ministry and Divine worship. " I did not 
clearly perceive that all worship, performed in the will of 
the creature, and without the immediate assistance of the 
Holy Spirit, was truly will worship and idolatry. But in 
process of time I clearly perceived that this was the case." 

The unsatisfying character of that ministry which does 
not proceed from the Source of all good, is illustrated by an 

* See note, p. 19. - - 



360 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

anecdote related of the Poet Cowper's friend, John New- 
ton.* He once visited a minister who affected great accu- 
racy in his discourses ; and who, on that day, had occupied 
nearly an hour in insisting on several labored and nice dis- 
tinctions made in his subject. As they walked home he 
asked Newton whether he thought the distinctions just in- 
sisted on were full and judicious. Newton said he thought 
them not fall, as a very important one had been omitted. 
" What can that be ? " said the minister, " for I have taken 
more than ordinary care to enumerate them fully." "I 
think not," replied John Newton, " for when many of your 
congregation have travelled several miles for a meal, I 
think you should not have forgotten the important distinc- 
tion between meat and bones." 

A similar lesson is taught by the case of Dr. Manton,f 
who, when preaching before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen 
of London, chose a subject in which he had an opportunity 
of displaying his learning and judgment. He was heard 
with admiration and applause by the intellectual part of his 
audience ; but as he was returning from dinner with the 
Lord Mayor, a poor man following him pulled him by the 
sleeve of his gown and said : " I came with hopes of getting 
some good to my soul, but I was greatly disappointed, for I 
could not understand a great deal of what you said ; you 
were quite above my comprehension." " Friend," said the 
doctor, " If I have not given you a sermon, you have given 
me one ; by the grace of God, I will not play the fool in 
such a manner again." 

The account of Balaam, who was sent for by Balak, King 
of Moab, to come and curse the children of Israel, is one 
that is full of interest and instruction. There can be no 
doubt that he was divinely visited and instructed, and 
enabled to foretell to others the Lord's purposes. But he 

*Bornl705. Died 1807. A native of London. Atone time engaged in 
African slave trade. Afterwards a minister in the Church of England, 
and a writer of religious works. See his Autobiography. 

tAn English Non-conformist clergyman. Born 1620. Died 1677. 
Distinguished as a preacher. See Neal's Puritans. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 361 

loved the wages of unrighteousness ; and though, while the 
holy influence was upon him, he could utter the petition, 
" Let me die the death of the righteous," yet he was at last 
slain among the enemies of the Lord's people. Those who 
have known the Divine command to preach unto others, are 
by no means exempted from obedience to our Saviour's in- 
junction, " Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation ;" 
if they neglect this they will assuredly fall away. 

Balaam's experience shows also, that the Lord, in his 
wisdom, sometimes uses as his instruments, to accomplish 
particular purposes, those who are not fully brought into 
subjection to his government. Joseph Hoag* relates an 
incident of this kind in his own experience, Avhich occurred 
when he Avas seventeen or eighteen years of age. He was 
then visiting a relative, in company with a cousin. He 
says: 

It was a time of life when, at times, I indulged myself in 
such conversation as promoted merriment. In this way I 
entertained my cousin most of the way going ; but on my 
return, we had not travelled far, before we were overtaken 
by a man, who soon fell upon me, cursing the Quakers in 
strong terms, because they would not fight. It was during 
the revolutionary war, and critical times in that part of the 
country. I heard him pretty much through, by which time 
I felt my mind closely arrested with an uneasy feeling, that 
the principles of Truth, and the people that I believed were 
faithful to them, should be so censured, though I felt con- 
scious that I was not one of the faithful, which at times I 
forcibly felt ; yet, notwithstanding my embarrassed state of 
mind, the Lord, I believed for the sake of his own name, 
and the tender regard He had for his faithful ones, touched 
my mind, though I was hardly sensible what it was that 
required me to speak, let the consequence be what it would. 
As I commenced, all fear departed, words flowed rapidly, 
and I was enabled to show the difference between the law 

* See note, p. 100. 
31 



362 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

and the gospel — to open to him our principles, giving him 
our reasons for them, and to prove them by many Scripture 
passages ; and, finally to show him it was impossible for a 
true Quaker, to be either whig or tory, for they implied 
opposite parties, and both believed in war, but Friends did 
not. The man became tender, and with tears running down 
his cheeks, acknowledged our reasons were good, and that 
our principles were right, and wished that Friends would 
keep to them ; if they did, it would be a blessing to the 
world. This remark came home to my feelings. He added 
that he was fifty-five years of age, and never saw these 
things before, and that it was marvellous to him to believe. 
He said there must be great wisdom amongst the Quakers 
for so young a man to know so much. He urged me to go 
home with him ; I informed him I could not. When we 
parted with him, he gave me his hand, wished me well, 
desiring me to remember him, and to pray for him. This 
thought went through me like a sword; " How ran I pray 
for thee, when I neglect to pray for myself." 

As I turned from this man, I discovered a man that had 
been riding behind us several miles unperceived by me. He 
suddenly rode up and said : " I was glad to hear you bang 
oft' that old whig, for he is an old rebel, an enemy to his 
king, and it is good enough for him." I turned and looked 
him full in the face ; it came forcibly into my mind, "Thou 
art one of the vilest of men." I soon replied, " I believe 
thou art mistaken in me, for I can no more be a tory than 
I can be a whig." He said, " Whig?" I replied that 
before the war our country got much filled up with a sort 
of men that hung about the taverns, practiced card-playing, 
cock-fighting, horse-racing, and getting drunk, and then 
would go home and abuse their families ; they were in the 
service of the devil, and of course were his children. The 
Lord had suffered an evil spirit to divide them ; for they 
corrupted the land — one part had taken side for the king, 
and the other for the country. Both parties were still in 
the same practices. For these reasons I cannot be tory nor 
whig." He went off whistling and left us. My cousin then 
rode up, and with a serious look, said in substance : "Joseph, 
all the way going to uncle's thou kept me laughing with thy 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 363 

nonsense, and now thou canst talk like an angel ; — set the 
first man a crying, and the last one thou hast pictured out 
as correctly as I could, that have lived by him all my days. 
He is a neighbor to father, and is called many things but 
good, and thou hast been talking to him like a minister ; 
what can I think of thee ? " Her simple remarks went 
through me like an arrow thrown at venture. It cut me 
so close that I had to sink down, reasoning with myself, 
" Sure enough, what am I ? " And as I sank down in my 
mind, I felt the weight of my folly ; then after a while it 
was opened to me in the Light, and with such clearness 
that I had no power to disbelieve, that the Lord put a word 
in Balaam's mouth to deliver to the Midianites and Moab- 
ites, though his heart was not right before the Lord ; and 
though he was highly favored, yet he did not give up to 
cleave to the Lord with all his heart, and keep to the word 
he had spoken to the people, therefore the Lord cut him off. 
And now the Lord had put a word in my mouth for those 
men, and for the upholding of the Truth in the earth, 
though my heart was not right before Him, and if I did 
not cleave to the Lord with my whole heart, and keep to 
the word spoken, the time was coming that I should be cut 
off as Balaam was. 

The force of this solemn subject turned my jesting into 
heaviness of heart. I marvelled at the wisdom, goodness 
and tender mercy of the Almighty towards me, in awaken- 
ing and instructing me in such a wonderful manner. Adored 
and praised forever be his holy name ! " 

Among the pleasant things to which the mind reverts 
with grateful feeling, as the occurrences of former years 
pass in review before it, are some of those seasons of spiritual 
refreshment, which are often spoken of in the Society of 
Friends as "religious opportunities." When friends and 
relatives are gathered in social circle, and passing the time in 
conversation, a feeling of silent solemnity sometimes spreads 
over the little company. One after another yields to the 
quieting influence, till without a word being said, all are found 



364 I BT CID 1 X TS AND R E F LECTIONS. 

waiting in silence on the Lord, and gathered into a sense 
of His holy presence. The silence is sometimes broken by 
the voice of supplication, or the word of exhortation; and 
sometimes it continues unbroken till a liberty is felt again 
to resume the social converse. We doubt not most of our 
readers can recall such seasons, in which their hearts have 
been melted before the Lord, and earnest desires raised to 
run with patience in the heavenly path set before them. 

John Richardson* relates that after landing on the Ber- 
mudas, he and his companion came after night to the house 
of Richard Stafford, an old man in the station of Judge, 
who was one of the leading men on the island. On reach- 
ing the house, his wife took them to the room where the 
Judge was. John says : " When we came to him he rose 
up, and took the candle in his hand and said, 'Are you the 
strangers that I have sent for?' I said, 'Who thou may'st 
expect I know not, but we are strangers.' When he had 
looked well in my face, he set down the candle and said, 
' What a mercy is this, that the Lord should send men from 
I know not where, in his love to visit me !' and took me in 
his arms and kissed me ; and I said to him, ' The Lord of 
heaven and earth bless thee ;' and we shed many tears and 
wept together. 

"As I entered the house, I felt the love of God ; and his 
glory, I thought, shone in and filled every room as I passed 
through them ; and I said, ' Peace be to this place,' and I 
felt it was so." 

The next morning, "I was walking in our lodging-room 
early, and the Judge's wife came to the door and asked, if 
she might speak with us? I said she might; then she came in 
and said, she had a message from her husband to us. I 
queried what it was. She said, he desired we would come 
and pray for him before we went away. I desired she 
would favor us so much as to lay before her husband some- 
thing which I had to say, and she promised she would : well 
then, tell the Judge, that if he will suffer us to come into 

* See note, p. 77. 



INCIDENTS A N l> B E V l> BCT10NS. 365 

his room, and sit down and wait upon the Lord, as our man- 
ner is in such a case as this, if it please the Lord to move 
us by his Holy Spirit to pray, we may ; but if not, let not 
the Judge take it amiss, for we are willing to be at the 
Lord's disposing in all things. She went, and I believe, as 
she said, laid the matter before him as I had delivered it to 
her; for she was a woman of a good understanding, and 
came back again to us in a very little time. I asked what 
the Judge said? She replied, he said, 'Let the men take 
their own way, and whether they pray for me or not, I be- 
lieve they are men of God :' So after some little respite, 
we being brought to the Judge's bed-side, sat down and 
waited upon the Lord, who was pleased in his love and by 
his mighty power, to break in upon us, and also opened my 
mouth in his gift of grace and of supplication, in which 
gift, ardent and fervent cries went up to the Lord of heaven 
and earth that He would send health and salvation to the 
Judge, and also to all his family, and to all people far and 
near, that all every where might repent and come to the 
knowledge of the Truth and be saved. The Judge wept 
aloud, and a mighty visitation it was to his family, and 
especially to himself and his tender wife. We left the 
Judge in a fine frame of spirit, and no doubt near the 
kingdom." 

Thomas Story* mentions, that in the course of one of his 
religious visits, he came to Bristol, " Where, lodging at our 
ancient and honorable friend, Richard Snead's, one morn- 
ing the canopy of the Divine presence came over us in the 
family, and brought us all into right silence for a time ; and 
then the holy spirit of prayer and supplication came upon 
us: And, while we were in that exercise, William Penn, 
who ever loved the Truth in the meanest, came into 
the room, and joined with us; and, after him, that 
ancient, able and eminent Friend and minister of the 
Lord Jesus, Roger Haydock, who joined in the same like- 
wise ; and some others following them, all coming to see 
us, were favored with the same visitation and good presence 
of the Lord our God, and the enjoyment of Him together 

* See note, p. 111. 
31* 



36b' INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

in the Beloved, to our great and mutual refreshment, edifi- 
cation and consolation." 

On another occasion, when at West Allandale, he says, 
" In the evening came to us several friends, and among 
others our ancient and honorable friend, Cuthbert Feather- 
stone ; and, as we were conversing together in that friend- 
ship which the Lord begets in those who are his, He drew 
our minds under the canopy of Divine silence; in which, 
remaining for a time, we had a heavenly visitation of his 
soul-melting goodness together ; and I, observing the tears 
to trickle down from the eyes of our ancient friend, upon 
his clothes, was greatly affected with love towards him from 
the same cause; and had this hope and confidence upon that 
occasion, that as I then observed the Lord was as near his 
children in old age, who had served Him faithfully from 
the time of their visitation, as when He first revealed Him- 
self through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ in their own 
hearts, so He would be with me also in advanced years, if I 
proved faithful and true to the Lord, and attained that 
degree." 

In 1698, when he was about to embark for America on a 
religious visit, several of his friends accompanied him 
on hoard the vessel in which he proposed to make the 
voyage. He says : " Being together in the great cabin, the 
good presence of the Lord commanded deep and inward 
silence before Him, and the Comforter of the just brake in 
upon us by his irresistible power, and greatly tendered us 
together in his heavenly love, whereby we were melted into 
many tears. Glorious was this appearance to the humbling 
of us all, and admiration of some there who did not under- 
stand it. And, in this condition, we remained for a con- 
siderable season ; and then William Penn was concerned in 
prayer ' For the good and preservation of all, and more 
especially for us then about to leave them ; with thanks- 
giving also for all the favors of God, and for that holy and 
precious enjoyment, as an addition to his many former 
blessings.' And when he had finished, the Lord repeated 
his own holy embraces of Divine soul-melting love upon the 



I X ( : I I ) E X T S AND I! E V L E CTI N S . 367 

silent weeping assembly, to the full confirmation of us more 
immediately concerned, and further evidence to the brethren 
of the truth of our calling." 

Sarah [Lynes] Grubb,* in one of her letters, after speak- 
ing of the marriage of her dear friend, Ann Baker, says: 
" We made an excursion to Malvern, eight miles distant 
from Worcester, where we were delighted with the admir- 
able display of the beauties of nature in the country ; but 
without attempting a task I am unequal to, that of describ- 
ing the scene, I hasten to tell thee that I think we had a 
mark that this innocent gratification was not displeasing to 
our Heavenly Father; for, as we had descended a little 
below the summit of the highest hill, sitting down to rest on 
a bank, an uncommon degree of Divine light and sweetness 
spread over my mind, under which I recollected a dream I had 
in the winter, and felt the opening of life to tell it to my com- 
panions, and that the reality was then my experience. I 
dreamed I was on an eminence, surrounded by my fellow- 
creatures in their habitations, and under great exercise for 
myself and them, when serenity and sweetness preciously 
diffused itself into my soul, and my tongue was loosened to 
sing, 'Alleluia, Alleluia." The relating of it, together with 
enlargement through the gospel light vouchsafed at the 
time, broke us all into contrition. My dear Ann said a 
little matter, and supplication was poured forth, with 
thanksgiving and praise to Him who shuts and none can 
open, who opens and none can shut. We went home under 
the consoling persuasion that He mercifully cares for his 
little ones. I felt the incomes of love and life so strong, 
while thus, as it were, unbent with my dear Ann, that we 
reckoned it might be intended to answer the purpose of the 
forty days' food." , 

Joseph Oxleyf mentions in his journal, that when his 
uncle Edmund Peckover was on his way to London in 
order to pay a religious visit to the churches in America, 

• * An eminent minister among Friends. Died in 1842, at Sudbury, 
England, aged sixty-nine years. See her Letters. 
f See note, p. 310. 



36K INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

several friends being in company, a remarkable feeling of 
holy solemnity overspread them. He says: — 

" In this manner we continued some time, and then dear 
uncle made a full stop, and so did all the rest, and alighted 
from our horses ; uncle being filled with the power and love 
of God, kneeled down on the wide heath, and supplicated 
the Almighty with that fervency of spirit, and we were all 
so affected and reached by the power of Truth, which was 
over all, as was to our inexpressible joy, consolation and 
comfort. This was a renewed confirmation and opportunity 
to dear uncle and us, of his concern being grounded upon 
a right bottom. I never at any time felt and enjoyed any- 
thing to the like degree as this ; it was to us at that time, 
even as if the very heavens were opened, the fragrancy 
thereof remains sweet in my remembrance to this day ! In 
this heavenly frame, we saluted one another, whilst tears 
plentifully trickled down our cheeks — we knew not how to 
part, and yet it must be. Thus in much brokenness and 
contrition of soul and spirit, we took an affectionate leave 
one of another; but, indeed, we were so overcome as almost 
past utterance." 

The caution which a true minister of the Gospel, should 
fee) to know a right opening and commission from the Lord, 
before entering upon religious service, has been referred to 
in several of the incidents and experiences already related. 
A similar care is needed in entering upon religious contro- 
versy. The remarks upon this subject of Thomas Story* 
are very instructive. 

He was a man of good education and much ability, and 
in his extensive travels in the service of the Gospel often 
met with opponents, and was drawn into public disputes 
with them. While still a young man, residing with his 
father at Carlisle in England, and soon after he had joined 
the Society of Friends, a certain Dr. Gilpin of his acquaint- 
ance invited him to his house, and desired to see some of 

See note. p. 111. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS 869 

the writings of Friends. Thomas thereupon sent him alL 
that he had. His journal says : 

" Soon after I had parted with these books, I observed a 
cloud come over my mind, and an unusual concern ; and 
therein the two sacraments (commonly so termed) came 
afresh into my remembrance, and divers scriptures and 
arguments, pro and con ; and then I was apprehensive the 
Doctor was preparing something of that sort to discourse 
me upon ; and I began to search out some Scriptures in 
defence of my own sentiments on those subjects; but as I 
proceeded a little in that work, I became more uneasy and 
clouded ; upon which I laid aside the Scripture, and sat 
still, looking toward the Lord for counsel ; for I considered 
the Doctor as a man of great learning, religious in his way, 
an ancient preacher and writer too, famous in Oliver's time, 
and a throne among his brethren ; and that he might advance 
such subtilities as I could not readily confute, nor would 
concede to, as knowing them erroneous, though I might not 
suddenly be furnished with arguments to demonstrate their 
fallacy ; and so might receive hurt. 

" And then it was clear in my understanding that, as he 
was in his own will and strength, though with a good intent 
in his own sense, searching the letter, and depending upon 
that and his own wisdom, acquirements and subtilty, lean- 
ing to his own spirit and understanding, I must decline that 
way, and trust in the Spirit of Christ, the Divine Author of 
the Holy Scriptures. And as this caution was presented in 
the life and virtue of Truth, I rested satisfied therein, and 
searched no farther on that occasion. When I went to his 
house, he entered into a discourse on those subjects ; and 
had such passages of Scripture folded down as he purposed 
to use ; and when I observed it, I was confirmed that my 
sight of him, in my own chamber at Carlisle, and of his 
work, some days before, was right ; and my mind was strength- 
ened thereby." 

The conference between them was a friendly one, and 
Thomas Story experienced the Spirit of the Almighty to 
give him understanding, so that he was enabled to explain 



370 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

to the Doctor the spiritual views he had embraced of true 
religion, and the outward and temporary nature of what is 
termed the Lord's Supper. The Doctor heard without oppo- 
sition and they parted in friendship. 

'■ From henceforth," T. Story continues, " I was easy as 
to every thing any of that sort could say. And divers dis- 
putes I have had with many of them since, in other parts 
of the world ; but never began any controversy, being always 
on the defensive side ; and rarely entered upon any point 
in question, with any sect, till I knew the Divine Truth over 
all in my own mind, and my will subjected by it. And my 
next care usually was, not to provoke my opponent ; for, by 
keeping him calm, I had his own understanding, and the 
measure of grace in him, for truth and my point, against the 
error he contended for ; and my chief aim generally hath 
been to gain upon peoples' understanding for their own good. 
But when a man is put into a passion, he may be confounded 
but not convinced; for passion is as scorching fire without 
light ; it suspends the understanding and obstructs the way 
to it, so that it cannot be gained upon or informed, which 
ought to be the true aim in all conferences and reasoning 
in matters of religion ; else all will end in vain and unprofit- 
able jangling, contrary to the nature of the thing they reason 
about, and displease the Holy One, and end in trouble. 
But two or three times at most, in the course of life, and 
occasional occurrences, in some low cases, with meaner oppo- 
nents, in too hasty engagements in my own strength, and 
off my full guard, my mind hath been ruffled. And though 
I have gained the point by force of argument, from the 
principle of reason only, and not from the principle of Divine 
Truth ; yet have not had that peace and satisfaction of mind 
which is to be found in the virtue of Truth alone. And 
this also taught me to be totally silent, and sometimes even 
insulted by iguorants as if I had nothing to say ; till the 
power and virtue of Truth hath arisen in my mind, and 
then it hath never failed, by its own light and evidence, to 
support its own cause, and justify me." 

On one occasion, when at London, visiting among his 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 371 

relatives, T. Story accompanied his elder brother, who was 
Dean of Limerick in Ireland, to the house of Robert Con- 
stable, a Justice of the Peace, and a near relation. Among 
other company was a priest who was a stranger to him, and 
not knowing their relationship, thought Thomas fair game, 
and, as he says, " Began to peck at me by several sour hints, 
which showed his dislike of my company ; which, for conver- 
sation's sake, I passed by. • But my forbearance and silence 
encouraging him to be a little bolder, at length he moved 
a plain accusation, and said, "You deny the ordinances of 
Christ, Water Baptism, and the Lord's Supper." 

" I replied : ' Thou hast not heard me say anything on 
these subjects ; how dost thou therefore know what I deny 
or affirm ?' Then, said he, ' I perceive you are one of that 
sect that does deny them.' ' What authority hast thou, said 
I, for Water Baptism ?' He was ready with that much mis- 
taken text, ' Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing,' 
&c. ' This, said I, was a commandment given by Christ to 
his apostles ; but dost thou think this is a command to thee ; 
(for thou seems to be a teacher of the people), hast thou 
any authority by this text ?' Upon this he hesitated a little, 
and the Justice began to smile. The pause being over, the 
priest answered, ' Yes.' Then, said I, ' how many nations 
hast thou travelled through in this work ? how many taught 
and baptized ?' His countenance began a little to alter, and 
then he replied, ' I have never been out of England.' My 
next question was: 'How many counties of England hast 
thou travelled in this service?' He answered he had not 
travelled in any on that account. ' Then, said I, thou wicked 
and unfaithful servant, out of thy own mouth shalt thou be 
judged : Thou hast here affirmed before these witnesses, that 
the Lord Jesus Christ hath commanded and sent thee to 
teach and baptize all nations, and thou art set down in 
a corner, and hast not baptized any one. For thou must 
understand, friend, that sprinkling an infant is no baptism, 
either in mode or subject,' Upon this the Counsellor laughed 
outright* (for so he was as well as a Justice), and the other 



372 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

priests smiled. Then, said the Justice, ' Sir, this gentleman 
is my near relation, a cousin-german, you will get nothing 
by meddling with him on these subjects.' And so the mat- 
ter dropped, and we entered on such matters as occurred, 
and more natural for conversation among relations and 
acquaintance." 

An incident related by Job Scott* in his journal, illus- 
trates the importance of keeping close to our Heavenly 
Guide, especially when we are endeavoring to defend the 
cause of religious truth. 

In the year 1784, he attended a meeting at Saratoga, of 
which he says, " It was to me a time of awful silent wait- 
ing ; and though several subjects seemed to be opening on 
my mind, yet they all closed up, and I had no liberty to 
say any thing among them. 

■• Rear the conclusion of the meeting it sprang a little in 
my view, and I thought likely I might have to mention it, 
that I had a little cabinet with me, that contained a valu- 
able treasure ; but that I was not the keeper of the key ; 
that He kept the key, who, when He opens, none can shut; 
and, on the contrary, when He shuts, none can open ; so as 
He did not open, I had nothing for the people. 

" After meeting we went home with James Seal. Here 
came a Baptist preacher who had been at the meeting. 
Soon after he came in he began to discourse, and seemed to 
manifest a disposition to dispute. I felt a caution arise, not 
hastily to speak what was on my mind. So keeping silence, 
I had an opportunity to hear him work around and try to 
get hold of something, as he conversed with Daniel Aldrich 
and the other Friends, till dinner was ready. Also at the 
table he manifested the same disposition, and said he should 
like it better if Friends would state some propositions, and 
clearly illustrate them, than to dwell much on exhortations 
Ac, meaning in public testimony, I suppose. 

" I remained silent till dinner was over ; and then, before 
we rose from the table, I felt an openness to speak. First, 
I related the constrainings to silence which I had felt in the 

*See note. p. 14. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 373 

meeting, and what sprang in my mind near the close of it, 
respecting the little cabinet I had, the key of which I was 
not the keeper of, &c. And then, enlarging a little, I 
added, that I had found by trying to open something myself, 
I had run into Avords, to the grief of my own mind, and not 
to the profit of the people. And further, that by endeavor- 
ing to be methodical, I had sometimes lost the life, in which 
the pure opening was, and so been confused and confounded. 
But that, by waiting in silence till the life hath arisen, and 
therein a living opening; and by carefully moving, as the 
true key opened things suitable to the states of the people, 
I had often known the power of Truth arise into great 
dominion ; to the consolation of my own soul, the great 
tendering of the people, and, as I have no reason to doubt, 
to their real benefit and spiritual advantage. 

" After thus expressing, as things opened in a good degree 
of the influence of truth, the poor man seemed to be entirely 
shut up; and without making a word of reply, arose from 
the table, took his stick in his hand and went away. He 
soon after returned again on some outward occasion, but did 
not come into our company, and said nothing about relig- 
ious matters. 

" Thus that spirit, wherein he appeared to think himself 
able to crush and confound us all, was overcome, and as it 
were chained and bound fast in silence. Let God have all 
the glory, as it is evidently due to Him. For by waiting his 
time, He gave us the victory, and that without many words ; 
whereas, had we engaged this priest at a venture, and entered 
into a dispute with him, in our own creaturely ability, as if 
our time was always ready, it is very likely it might have 
led into a large field of words and arguments, without much 
satisfaction on either side." 

On the subject of controversy, Isaac Penington* thus 
speaks in one of his letters: "As touching disputes, indeed, 
I have no love to them : Truth did not enter my heart that 
way ; yet, sometimes a necessity is laid upon me, for the 
sake of others. And truly, when I do feel a necessity, I do 
it in great fear ; not trusting in my spear or bow, I mean in 

* See Note, p. 321. 
32 



374 INCIDENTS AND KEF LECTIONS. 

strong arguments or wise considerations, which I (of my- 
self) can gather or comprehend : but I look up to the Lord 
for the guidance, help and demonstration of his Spirit, that 
way may be made thereby in men's hearts for the pure seed 
to be reached to, wherein the true conviction and thorough 
conversion of the soul to God is witnessed." 

This reaching to " the pure seed " — the gift of Divine 
Grace — is the surest way to produce conviction. Many 
yeai's ago, a Friend in the vicinity of Philadelphia com- 
mitted some act against the good order and discipline of the 
Society, and justified himself in his offence. A committee 
was appointed to wait upon him, but he was foil of argu- 
ments in defence of his conduct. A party was forming in 
the Monthly Meeting, for he went about telling what he had 
said, and what the committee had said ; and some thought 
one thing, and some another. A Friend, who felt his mind 
drawn in love and life to go with the committee to see him, 
knowing very well that he would fortify himself with argu- 
ments against everything that could be said to him, told his 
companions that " we were going to meet with a crooked 
spirit, that never could be overcome with words." He thus 
described the interview : 

So we went to see him, and he invited us into a room ; anti 
we all sat in solemn silence together, until he became very 
uneasy and restless. We then conversed about other mat- 
ters, and afterwards walked out, looked at his farm, and 
talked friendly together. So we came in and took tea ; and 
after tea we sat in silence, in a feeling and tender state. 
We then concluded to order our horses and go ; but he 
said, "Friends, not so. It is too late." So we consented 
and stayed all night, and in the morning, after breakfast, 
we sat down again in solemn silence, and were all much 
tendered together. When we had bid the family farewell, 
and had mounted our horses, he called us back and said, 
" Friends, I am conquered ; for I could not sleep last night. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 375 

I had nothing but my conscience to war with, and it con- 
tinually reproached me with having done wrong. Oh ! 
Friends, I am willing to make any acknowledgment, if it 
Avill only atone for the evil I have done." I told him, he 
had not much acknowledgment to make to Friends; if he 
could only make peace with his Heavenly Father, a very 
little would satisfy Friends. So we went back again, and 
he wrote an acknowledgment which we thought was more 
than enough ; and when it was made right, we parted in 
much tenderness, and he gave the paper to the Monthly 
Meeting. It was freely accepted, and peace and harmony 
were restored among Friends. 

David Ferris* in speaking of his spiritual progress, gives 
the following caution : 

" Here I think proper to remark, that in one respect I 
was apt to err, until experience taught me better. This 
was talking too much about religion in my own will and 
time. At length I found it tended to poverty; and I 
learned, when in company, not to be forward to enter into 
any discourse concerning religion or any other subject ; but 
to be content to keep silence and be esteemed a fool ; until 
Truth arose, a subject clearly pi'esented, and liberty was 
given for conversation. Then I found a qualification to 
speak to the edification of others, and my own peace and 
satisfaction. I mention this for the benefit of others ; being 
convinced that many who have had experience of the Truth, 
and have in some degree witnessed a change of heart, have 
talked so much on religious subjects, that their souls have 
become barren ; so as scarcely to know when good cometh." 

In conversation on religious subjects, the mind is often 
influenced by a concealed self-love, which is gratified by 
the impression we think is made on others as to our own 
spiritual attainments. This disposition is one that will not 
bear the searching scrutiny of the Light of Christ to which 
all our words, as well as thoughts and actions, ought to be 
* See Note, p. 49. 



376 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

brought, to see whether they are " wrought in God." William 
Lewis,* a valuable minister who deceased at Bristol, Eng- 
land, has left us in his Memoirs, the following remarks on 
this subject : 

" When I consider, and considering, feel, the depth and 
strength of self-love in the fallen soul of man, broken off 
from union with the perfect will of its glorious Creator; and 
the almost perpetual springing forth of vain-glorious desire, 
branching and spreading in some direction or other from 
this bitter root ; writing, or even speaking of ourselves, ap- 
pears to my view, an engagement requiring watchfulness 
and self-abasement ; under this persuasion I have cautiously 
avoided epistolary correspondence on my own spiritual con- 
cerns, and have long believed it would be better for all 
religiously exercised persons (particularly those who are 
young) to be less employed in this way than is commonly 
the case. I remain fixed in the judgment, that (unless 
peculiar circumstances attach) self should not be our subject, 
when we write on spiritual matters ; that the marvellous 
work of a gracious God in the depth of our hearts, should 
be gratefully acknowledged to Him in secret ; our inward 
soitoavs poured out before Him ; that under the painful 
sense of our defilement, Ave should simply seek to that foun- 
tain which He hath provided, and which He alone opens, 
for the Avashing it away ; and thus go with the confession of 
our sins to Him avIio is faithful and just to forgive them ; 
and Avho (if Ave are ' workers together with Him ' ) Avill 
assuredly ' cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' " 

Just and valuable as are the above observations, they 
should not be so applied as to limit a right freedom of un- 
folding our exercises, in which there is sometimes a service 
for the good of others. It is recorded, " They that feared 
the Lord spake often one to another ; and the Lord heark- 
ened and heard it ; and a book of remembrance was Avritten 

* A minister among Friends, who resided at Bristol, England. Died 

In 1810. See Memoirs. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 377 

before Him for them that feared the Lord and thought 
upon His name." If the heart is truly possessed with the 
love of God, the conversation will evince it, for " out of the 
abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh." There is 
perhaps no safer rule to follow, than that pointed out in the 
petition of the Psalmist — " May the words of my mouth and 
the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O 
Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." 

Richard Shackleton,* of Ballitore Ireland, in a letter to 
one of his daughters, after giving her some weighty counsel 
adds, " These things occurred, and I venture to pen them 
down, in a degree of freedom of mind. And indeed, with- 
out such freedom, we should be cautious of writing or speak- 
ing on the solemn subject of religion. Our own spirits, as 
human creatures, may agitate other matters ; but the Spirit 
of Christ in us should more or less open our understandings, 
and give liberty, where we meddle with the things of his 
kingdom." 

While there is need of care in this respect, there is also a 
danger to some, especially to those of a diffident disposition, 
and those who are not so thoroughly humbled under the 
Divine Power as to be willing to appear as fools for Christ's 
sake, — that they may withhold a testimony for their Mas- 
ter, when it is really called for. In the Youth's Companion, 
an instance is recorded, where a manifest blessing rested 
upon the faithful discharge of such a duty. After speaking 
of the wisdom needed in speaking to another person upon 
his religious welfare, and that personal allusions of the kind 
should be made modestly and quietly, the narrative says : 

Two New York merchants lived near neighbors in the 
environs of the city, and rode to and from their business in 
the morning and evening trains. They saw each other every 

* See Note, p. 194. 
32* 



378 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

day, but were not intimate friends, and were very seldom 
together. One was a religious man and the other was not. 

One day it happened that they occupied the same seat in 
the car. They fell into talk on business matters, discussed 
the general conditions and prospects of trade, and then 
spoke of their personal successes. 

" It 1ms been a lucky year for me ;" said the elder of the 
two. " I suppose I could retire with a hundred thousand 
dollars. That certainly is a competence, and I don't know 
as I care for any more." 

" Yes, that is enough," replied the younger. " You are 
provided for." 

" I suppose I am." 

" For this life. Excuse me, may I ask how about the 
next — the life beyond ?" 

" Oh, I don't worry myself about that !" 

" But wouldn't it be wise now to give serious thought to 
what comes after death ?" 

" I can see no use in it. These matters are beyond our 
control. I've no fears but it will all come out right." 

"But isn't that a rather uncertain trust? I would not 
risk it without inquiry and study. Here, if anywhere, we 
want things plain, and the words of Christ have made them 
so." 

The merchants parted, to all appearances as totally differ- 
ent men as when they met ; the one with a Divine love in 
his heart ; the other taken up with the present life, and with 
no thoughts for the life of eternal future. 

No opportunity occurred to renew their conversation. 
Months passed — and not many — before the elder was taken 
ill. His neighbor missed him from the daily trains. He 
inquired after him, but learned of no alarming disease or 
danger. At length, one day while he was in the city, a 
telegram, sent at the sick man's request, was handed to him 
in his office, " A. is dying, and wishes to see you." The 
merchant hurried away and at the earliest possible moment 
stood by his neighbor's bedside. 

" I could not die," the sick man whispered, " till I had 
seen you and thanked you. What you said that morning 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 379 

on the cars, came up to me since I have been confined at 
home. I've looked into it, thought over it and prayed over 
it. I'm going now, but going in peace. Christ is my 
Saviour. My trust and hope are in Him." 

The power for good of a " word fitly spoken," when im- 
pressed on the heart by the Spirit of Christ, is shown by the 
following incident: — 

Many years ago, a child was leaving the junior depart- 
ment of a city school for a new home in the country. As 
he left, his old teacher put her hand upon his head, and in 
a single, simple sentence, commended him to God and to 
good. Years passed, and the child grew up, and read books, 
English, French, German, Greek, on ethics, and listened 
to lectures on the same subject, by famous professors in a 
venerable university. But no word which he read in the 
pages of ancient philosophers, or listened to from the lips 
of living teachers, ever proved to him a beacon-light like 
the simple words of his old school-mistress. In the time of 
temptation, the learned discussions of the philosophers were 
forgotten, or were remembered only to cause bewilderment 
as to the basis of right and duty ; but the lesson of childhood 
shone then the most clearly in the secret chamber of the 
soul and neither time nor doubt had power to dim its radi- 
ance. 

That eminent minister, Richard Jordan,* who died in 
1826, is said to have been one who was " apt to teach" in 
social conversation. He remarked of himself, that he some- 
times felt himself as much under the Divine anointing when 
engaged in serious conversation, or relating religious anec- 
dotes, as when pleading the cause of his Saviour in the 
public assemblies of his people. On one such occasion, when 
visiting at the house of a friend in New Jersey, during the 
evening, he addressed each of the four sons in the family 
where he was staying, in a conversational way. One he 

* See Note, p. 282. 



380 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

cautioned against the use of tobacco ; another against excess 
in eating ; another he warned against too much laughter ; 
and the fourth against talking too much. 

What effect attended the admonitions we are not informed ; 
but they were probably all judicious, and no one of that 
four addressed could evade the application to himself of the 
advice, on the plea that it was intended for others. 



PART V. 



KEWARDS OF FAITHFULNESS. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Joy, Hope, Peace. Job Scott. Thomas "Wilson. Thomas Thompson. 
William Hornold. Thomas Camm. Samuel Bownas. > A. F. Priscilla 
Riohardson. Epidemic in Philadelphia in 1699. John Fletcher. 
Peter Gardiner. John Churchman. Death of a Sceptic. Mary- 
Griffin. Comfort Collins. 

There is a satisfaction in being brought under religious 
exercise, and in the performance of the Lord's will, which 
is truly comforting to the sincere Christian, being an evidence 
to him of a degree of unity with his Divine Master. Yet 
in addition to this, our Heavenly Father is sometimes pleased 
to fill the souls of his faithful servants with a fulness of 
rejoicing, that there is scarce room to receive. 

In a letter of Job Scott,* he thus refers to a religious visit 
he had paid : " After all my painful conflicts in your land, 
the satisfaction I felt the day I bent my course for home, on 
looking back and over the visit made, was truly beyond my 
present ability to describe, and, I trust, will leave a lasting 
seal on my mind. It seemed as if the heavenly hosts hov- 
ered over me, for many miles on the way, so that tears of 
.joy flowed irresistibly, like a river. I was not fit for any 
conversation for a dozen miles, but rode alone, mostly 
behind. And oh ! the heart-heaving emotions which 1 felt 
towards many whom I had seen in your western world ! 
Oh ! the cries which ascended for your preservation ! How 

* See note, p. 14. 



382 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

often did this language run powerfully through ray mind : 
' Ye that keep watch in Heaven watch over them.' But I 
must not lavish away too much of that ecstatic, rapturous 
enjoyment, I then felt." 

Many are the records preserved which show the comfort 
and satisfaction which the Lord pours into the hearts of 
those who have been faithfully engaged in his service. 
When Thomas Wilson,* who had long labored for the good 
of other.*, was enduring the last conflicts of nature, he was 
asked — " If he would have anything to wet his mouth ;" to 
which he replied, " The Lord hath taken away all my pain, 
and given me the bread of life and the water of life, and 
quenched my thirst, which hath been great ; the will of the 
Lord be done." And again said, " The Lord's goodness 
fills my heart, which gives me the evidence and assurance 
of my everlasting peace in his kingdom, with my ancient 
friends that are gone before me, with whom I had sweet 
comfort in the work of the gospel." " The Lord visited me 
in my young years, and I felt his power, which hath been 
with me all along, and I am assured He will never leave 
me, which is my comfort." 

The true Christian will be preserved from placing any 
dependence for salvation on his works or merits, and will 
unfeignedly acknowledge that he is an "unprofitable ser- 
vant," having done no more than was his duty to do ; and 
this, no matter how earnestly and zealously he may have 
labored in the Master's cause. As he nears the close of 
life, it is often the case that such an one is made strongly to 
feel that his hopes must rest on the mercy of God in Christ 
Jesus our Lord ; and yet the remembrance of the labors and 
exercises undergone for the sake of his Redeemer, are at- 
tended with great comfort and satisfaction, as evidences of 
that Divine love and help which enabled him to perform 
them. 

■* See note, p. 40. 



EHCIDB N 18 AND REFLECTIONS. 

It ie recorded of Thomas Thompson,* one of the early 
Friends, that he was convinced by William Dewsbury, in 
the year 1652, and soon afterwards received a gift in the 

ministry, which he exercise! faithfully during a period of 
about fifty years. When on his death-bed, and previous to 
a very triumphant transit from time to eternity, he was 
enabled to make this remarkable acknowledgment: 
the day that the Word of the Lord came to me £ 
thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren ; and, if thou 
lovest me, feed my Iambs, ' I have spared no pains, neither 
in body nor spirit, neither am I conscious of slipping one 
opportunity of being serviceable to Truth and Friends 
have gone through what wits before me with all will: _ 
possible ; and and the return- of 

peace in my bosom.'' Yet he did not fail to a-cribe all v> 
the efficacy of redeeming love and mercy, saying. " The 
Lord Jesus Christ has shed his precious blood for us. and 
laid down his lite, and become sin for u~, that we might be 
made the righteous I in Him." 

William Hornold.r whose re-idenee was in Middlesex, 
England, and who died whilst ab.-ent from home in the 
service of the Gospel, was a faithful laborer. Among his 
dying savings, the following have been preserved. 

'• I thank the Lord my God, who hath kept and preserved 
me ever since He made me sensible of his everlasting Truth ; 
and through the help of the Lord my God. I have labored 
faithfully, according to the ability the Lord hath given. 
Yea, I can say, I have labored freely in the service of the 
Lord, that He called me to, for the promotion of his ever- 
lasting Truth on earth, and for the Lathering of the people 
to the holy way of the L;>rd. And I have not sought my- 
self, but served my God in truth and faithfulness, according 
to that ability the Lord gave me, praised be his holy name 
forever, for all honor and glory, thanksgiving and everlast- 
ing praises shall be given, attributed and ascribed to the 
Lord, my God ; for it is his due, and He is everlastingly 
worthy of it." 

*Diedl7i4. See notice of him in Friend^ Libras;], vol. 1. p 1 L 
f-A resident of Middlesex. England. Died in 1710. See notice in 
Evans' edition of Piety Promoted, voL 2, p. 43. 



384 INCIDENTS AXD REFLECTIONS. 

The memoir of Thomas Camm* manifests the same ascrip- 
tion of all to the mercy of God, mingled with rejoicing that 
he had been enabled to fight a good fight, and keep the 
faith. As he was sitting in his chamber, during the time of 
weakness that preceded his removal from this stage of 
existence, when asked how he did ? he replied : " I am but 
weakly in body, but strong in the inner man, blessed be the 
Lord, who hath been my support and strength hitherto." 
And he then farther said, " I have been pondering in my 
mind, and meditating of the wonderful and unspeakable 
mercies and loving kindnesses of God, to me extended all my 
life long, even to this very day ; that I, such a poor, weak, 
feeble creature, should be enabled to hold out and go through 
those many trials, travels, sufferings and exercises, both 
inward and outward of various kinds, that have fallen to 
my lot. It has indeed been the Lord's doings, who is and 
has been all along my buckler and my shield ; He shall 
have the praise and the glory of all, for He alone is worthy 
of it, forever and forevermore." 

In the cases of some who have been greatly blessed as 
laborers in the Lord's vineyard, there has been in old age 
a decay of the mental powers, which has precluded such 
expressions of the spiritual feelings as are shown in the 
instances already referred to. Such an one was Samuel 
Bownas.t whom Samuel Neale visited in 1752, and of whom 
he says : " My heart was made sensible of the necessity we 
have, while day and capacity are afforded, to work in the 
vineyard into which we are called, by seeing this laborer in 
a decaying, drooping way, by a failure of those faculties 
that were once so bright, fertile and fruitful. But still he 
maintains that innocency and sweetness which Truth gives, 
and leaves the savor of. to all who are faithful to its mani- 
festations, which remark may my soul treasure up ; so that 
I may make right use of my day and time, and ardently 
preserve the one thing needful, that leads to eternal repose, 

* A minister of Westmoreland, England. Died in 1707, In his sixty- 
seventh year. See notice in Evans' edition of Piety Promoted, vol. 1, p. 
396. 

t A native of Westmoreland, England. Twice came to America on 
religious visits. Died 175S. See Life in Friends' Library, vol. 3. p. 1, etc 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 385 

where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are 
at rest." 

With Samuel Bownas, spiritual greenness was preserved 
amid mental decay. But how affectingly contrasts with 
this another case also mentioned by Samuel Neale, who 
attended the funeral of the man in 1769. He says: 

" This man, A. F., was well gifted, well accoutred, and 
a serviceable man in his younger days ; but by being too 
much made use of by Friends, in the several offices of the 
church, he took too much upon him, became rather exalted, 
and did not abide enough in the lowly self-denying life of 
truth ; by which his spirit became too sufficient of himself, 
and his sufficiency was not enough of God, and the spirit 
of his Son. The fall of man is by little and little, not all 
at once ; his departure is established as he forgets the rock 
from whence he was hewn, and the hole of the pit from 
whence he was digged ; wrong is substituted for right, and 
error for truth ; a lording spirit prevails, and so the poor 
creature falls into delusion, even to believe a lie ! 

" A. F. was a man of good capacity, good natured to a 
large degree, and was very compliant and obliging, which 
made him much beloved by those of others as well as our 
own Society. An inclination to gratify a passion which 
has overthrown many was his foible : and though it began 
by a seeming temperance, yet habit confirmed a love for it, 
and so little by little the passion strengthened as it was 
gratified and became master of the man ; which increased 
so powerfully, as to weaken and enfeeble his love for God 
and man. The good cause he once delighted in, and was 
an advocate for, he neglected, and so was bound to his 
Delilah, by which he became dim, if not totally blind, with 
respect to spiritual sight and discerning; thus he lost his 
place in the mystical body, and became a fruitless branch 
in the Lord's vineyard ! May the sight and sense of such 
objects as this arouse us to vigilance and diligence, that in 
the end we may be blessed with a mansion in the realms of 
light and immortality !" 



386 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

There is often much comfort to be derived from the dying 
testimonies of those who have endeavored to serve the Lord 
while in health ; and who feel on the bed of death that 
they are not forsaken by their gracious Master. Such 
faithful servants are often made to feel that their salvation 
is not from any merit of their own, and are impressed with 
a sense of their own unworthiness, and that there is no 
room for flesh to glory in the Divine presence, yet they are 
enabled to rejoice in the mercy of the Lord extended to 
them. 

John Richardson* testifies of his wife Priscilla, that she 
" loved retirement much, and waiting upon the Lord, and 
the enjoyment of his internal and living presence, and espe- 
cially with the Lord's people, that they might also be made 
partakers with her of the like special favors. This was as 
her crown and kingdom in this world, even from her child- 
hood; and to see Friends prosper in the truth was matter 
of great rejoicing to her. When we had been married 
scarce three years, the Lord raised her up to bear a public 
testimony amongst Friends in their meetings, which was 
very comfortable and acceptable to them ; and also she had 
the spirit of grace and supplication measurably poured 
upon her, so that many with me did believe she had access 
to the throne of God, and to that river which maketh truly 
glad the city of God. She always freely gave me up to 
answer the service I believed the Lord called for of me. 

" She was taken from me when we had been married but 
about five years, in the twenty-eighth year of her age, and 
died in a sweet frame of mind and was sensible to the last ; 
and her last words were, 'He is come, He is come, whom 
my soul loves; and my soul rejoices in God my Saviour, 
and my spirit magnifies Him.' " 

Thomas Storvf relates that when he was at Philadelphia, 
in 1699, the city was afflicted with an epidemic of fatal 
sickness, which carried off much people. He says : " I 

* See not<" , p. 77. 
fSee note, p. 111. 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 387 

found my companion well, but many Friends on their sick 
and dying pillows ; and yet never could be more of the 
settled remaining presence of the Lord with them, or scarce 
any where, than was with them at that time. Such is the 
goodness of God to his own people, that in their bodily 
or any other afflictions, his holy presence greatly abates the 
exercises of nature by its Divine consolation. O the love 
that flowed in my soul to several in the times of my visits 
to them ! in which I was lifted over all fear of the con- 
tagion, and yet not without an awful regard toward the 
Lord therein. 

" My companion and I remained in town till the twenty- 
third of the month, visiting the sick Friends from time to 
time, as we found necessary or expedient. And great was 
the presence of the love of God with his people, in the 
midst of this trying visitation ; which gave us occasion to 
say, ' Good is the Lord, and greatly to be feared, loved 
and obeyed ; for though He suffers afflictions to come upon 
his own chosen people, in common with other men ; yet 
that, which otherwise would be intolerable, is made as noth- 
ing, by how much the sense thereof is swallowed up and 
immerged in his Divine love. Oh, the melting love ! Oh, 
the immortal sweetness I enjoyed with several, as they lay 
under the exercise of the devouring evil (though unspeak- 
ably comforted in the Lord) ! let my soul remember it, and 
wait low before the Lord to the end of my days ! " 

Mary Fletcher relates of her estimable husband, John 
Fletcher,* that when near the end of his life, " he told me 
he had received such a manifestation of the full meaning of 
those words, God is love, as he could never be able to ex- 
press. ' It fills my heart,' said he, ' every moment, Oh, 
Polly, my dear Polly, God is love ! Shout, shout aloud ! I 
want a gust of praise to go to the ends of the earth ! ' " 

Of Peter Gardiner (an anecdote of whom is narrated on 
page 327,) it is recorded that he " made a very sweet and 
heavenly end." To one who came into his sick chamber, 

* Born in Switzerland in 1720. Became a clergyman in the Church of 
England. Author of several religious works. Died in 1785, beloved for 
his piety and amiable qualities. 



388 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

he said, " I am sick in body, but the Lord reigns gloriously 
in Zion : His power is over all his enemies." His last mes- 
sage to be sent to Friends of his own neighborhood, is very 
touching : " I have sweet peace with Him that is the 
Redeemer of Israel, and am now waiting for my Pilot to 
conduct me to my long home." 

\Yhen John Churchman,* of Nottingham, was on his 
death-bed, although his pain was often great, he would 
many times in a day, break forth into a kind of melody 
with his voice, without uttering words, which, as he some- 
times intimated was an involuntary aspiration of his soul 
in praise to the Lord, who had again been pleased to shine 
forth in brightness after many days of poverty and deep 
baptism, which though painful, had proved beneficial to 
him, being a means of further purifying from the dross of 
nature. A few hours before the close of life he said, " I am 
much refreshed with my Master's sweet air; I feel more life, 
more light, more love and sweetness than ever before," and 
often mentioned the Divine refreshment and comfort he felt 
flowing like a pure stream to his inward man, saying to 
those who were with him, " I may tell you of it, but you 
cannot feel it as I do." 

These and thousands of others have verified in their 
experience the testimony borne by the late Samuel Cope in 
one of his public testimonies, that the Christian religion is 
one " to live by " and " to die by." One of the weakest 
points in the system of those who reject it, is the absence of 
any light or hope as to the future, when this stage of exist- 
ence 'ends. There all, to them, is darkness and doubt. A. 
T.Rankin gives the following narrative of one whose scepti- 
cal views on the approach of death could not give him the 
support which he then felt to be necessary. He says : 

In the early part of my life, travelling in Eastern Vir- 
ginia, at one of the interior towns I was introduced to 
Colonel W., a gentleman of wealth and eminence in the 

* See note, p. 14. 



1 N C I 1 ) E N T S A X L) II E V L E C 'J' I NS. 889 

community where he lived. Surrounded with the blandish- 
ments of social and domestic life, often called to bear the 
honors and reap the profits of office, he seemed happily 
situated. Some years afterward a newspaper, containing an 
account of his death, was sent me. AVhen death approached 
and eternity opened, he felt the folly of living without re- 
ligion. In his last hours a pious slave directed him to 
the Saviour of sinners. When the minister, for whom he 
sent, entered his room, he said, " There sir, you see a faith- 
ful old servant, who has answered the end of his being 
better than I have. He is a Christian, and I am a lost 
sinner. I would rather now be what he is than what I am, 
though I possessed the wealth of the Indies. I have been 
a wretched disciple of Paine ; and, what is worse, I have 
endeavored to make others as bad as myself. What have 
I gained by all the deistical works of which I once was so 
fond ? Nothing but the horror and distress of mind which 
I now suffer. Now they seem to me as the poison of the 
serpent." 

To his associates in disbelief he said : " I once held the 
same opinions, I hold them no longer. I cannot die an 
infidel. God have mercy upon me, a poor, mean, vile 
sinner ! " 

What a contrast with such a case is furnished by the fol- 
lowing narratives: — 

Mary Griffin, a native of Connecticut, was a minister who 
labored in the Lord's cause in her early life, and continued 
to be employed in his blessed service to a very advanced 
age. When eighty-two years old she travelled several hun- 
dred miles on horseback on a religious visit ; and in her 
one-hundreth year the energy and clearness of her mind 
continued so unimpaired, that although so weak in body as 
to be unable to stand alone she performed a religious visit 
among the families of Nine Partners' Meeting in New York. 
In the flowing of gospel love she was often led tenderly to 
point out to the young the great advantage of choosing the 
Lord for their portion. As she drew towards the close of 
her earthly pilgrimage she seemed absorbed in the love of 
33* 



390 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 

her Saviour, in whose service she had been so long engaged ; 
and her conversation was much about the things pertaining 
to an everlasting state. 

One day, while sitting retired and meditating alone, as 
she was accustomed to do, she was overheard saying, " I 
hope ere long to rest eternally in the arms of thy love." 
Reviving from a fainting fit, she exclaimed, " I feel love to 
flow to all mankind, and I believe this love will increase, 
and Truth prosper and spread through distant lands, even 
where they sit as it were in darkness ; and that the knowl- 
edge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters do the 
sea. My heart is filled with praises to the Lord, that He 
not only called me in my youth, but enabled me to follow 
Him ; and is yet with me in old age. Oh ! it is well, when 
we can say with the Apostle, " I have fought a good fight, 
I have kept the faith, henceforth there is laid up for me a 
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
Judge, shall give me at that day ; and not to me only, but 
to all them also that love his appearing." 

Her strength gradually wasted away, and she remained 
in a very sweet frame of mind to the close. Her last words 
to her children and her grandchildren, who had gathered 
round her dying bed, were, " Fear the Lord above all 
things, and keep up your religious meetings." 

Comfort Collins was another of the aged servants of 
Christ, who found by happy experience, that the Lord does 
not cast them off in the time of old age, when their physical 
and mental strength fail. One who visited her in 1812, 
when she was more than one hundred and one years of age, 
thus describes the interview, "All her faculties have in a 
manner, fled, save religious sensibility. She has no recol- 
lection of ever having had a husband or children, houses or 
lands ; nor any remembrance of her nearest friends, when 
named ; yet her sense of Divine good, and the religious 
fervor of her mind, appear unabated. We stayed about an 
hour with her ; the whole of which time she was engaged in 
praising her Maker, — in exhorting us to love the Lord, and 
to lay up treasure in Heaven ; — several times saying, ' one 
hour in the Lord's presence is better than a thousand else- 



INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 391 

where. I know it, Friends, I know it by experience.' Then 
her voice would settle away into a kind of melody ; and, 
after being still a minute or two, she would again lift it up 
with angelic sweetness in praising the Lord, and advising 
us to love and fear Him." 



INDEX. 



Acknowledgment of wrong made helpful to a stranger to religion. 

The, 67. 
African woman. Kindness of a poor Christian, 170. 
Amusements. Eemorse of a dying woman who had wasted her time 
in worldly, 154. 
The Light of Christ leads those who obey it out of worldly, 
156. 158. 
Ashton, John. Noble resolution of, and his wife to walk in the way 

of everlasting happiness, 41. 
Atheist. No man can be an, before he acts contrary to knowledge, 98. 

Bacon, David. Composure of, in time of danger, 226. 

Baily, William. The love and religious concern of, for his persecutors, 

270. 
Ball. The attendance of a, contrary to convictions of conscience, 95. 
Banks, John. Concern of, to be diligent in temporal, as well as 

spiritual things, 342. 
Baptism. True, that of the Holy Spirit, 43, 371. 

Illustration of the nature of true, 54. 
Barclay, Robert. Remarks of, on the visitations of the Spirit of 
Christ which come upon all men, 39. 
Convinced of the Truth by the secret operations of the Divine 
life, 305. 
Bathurst, Elizabeth. Concern of, for her acquaintance, 270. 
Beer. The sale and use of given up, 86. 
Benton, Thomas H. Tribute of, to his mother, 75. 

led to obtain a reconciliation with those with whom he had 
been at variance, 174. 
Benevolence, 160. 
Bettle, Samuel, Sr. Account related by, of the efficacy of prayer, 140. 



394 rxDEX. 

Brantingham, Mary. Incident in the ministry of, 308. 
Bray, William. Benevolent acts of, 166. 

Faith exemplified in the life of, 232, 233, 234. 

Love of and concern for others, 268, 284, 285. 

acknowledges his inability to preach without Divine help, 346. 

Camm, Thomas. Ascription of praise and rejoicing of, at the close of 

life, 384. 
Capper, Mary. Experience of the teaching of the Holy Spirit by, 

when a child. 25. 
Card Playing. Effectual reproof given to, 79. 

draws away the mind from heavenly things, 157. 
The practical effects of, injurious in any and every home, 158. 
Carlett, S. Providentially relieved from anxiety respecting the pay- 
ment of a debt, 56. 
Chalkley, Thomas. Testimony of, that card playing, music and danc- 
ing siiould be shunned by Christians, 157. 
Chaplin, Jeremiah. Kindness of, in his business dealings, 170. 
Child. Submission and confidence of a tender hearted and loving, 
191. 
The unhesitating trust of a, 240. 
Christ by his Spirit visits all men. 9. 

The light of, reveals sin and leads to repentance and amend- 
ment of life, 27. 
The light of, guides man's steps in the way of peace, 250. 
Experience of the healing virtue of, 198, 199, 200, 201. 
Christmas. Solemn warning against spending the day called, in a 

riotous and sinful manner, 58. 
Churchman, John, instructed when but eight years old to choose 
the path of obedience and peace, 14. 
restrained from making a voyage in an armed vessel, 78. 
Loss sustained by, through unwatchfulness, 98. 
Concern of, to turn people to the Witness for Truth in their 

own hearts, 181. 
relieved from apprehensions of danger by the fear of the Lord, 

224. 
led to illustrate the work and effects of religion by comparisons 
drawn from the outward world. 289, 290, 291. 



INDEX. 395 

Churchman, John, called to visit England, &c, in the love of the 
gospel, 300. 
instructed to attended closely to Divine openings in his minis- 
try, 346. 
Illustrations of Divine guidance in the ministry of, 349, 350. 
Divine refreshment and comfort felt by, on his death bed, 388. 
College student. Visitation of Divine grace to a, obeyed, 28. 

Visitation of Divine grace to a, disregarded, 118. 
Collins, Comfort. Happy experience of, when physical and mental 
strength failed, 390. 
Elizabeth. Narrative by, of an instance of Divine mercy and 

justice, 59. 
Instructed to be more faithful in the exercise of her gift as a 
minister, 119. 
Compassion overpowering the love of life. Incident of, 172. 
Compliments. The use of, declined by David Ferris from religious 

conviction, 152. 
Confession of wrong doing the way to peace of mind. The, 121, 123, 

125, 126. 
Conversation on religious subjects not to be lightly entered upon, 375. 
Cowper, John. Testimony of, to the need of Divine help to under- 
stand the wav of salvation, 110. 



Dahl, Endre. Remarkable preservation of, and companions at sea, 

202. 
Danger. The fear of removed, 224, 226, 227, 228. 
Deist instructed, A. 334. 

Delay in performing religious duties dangerous, 114, 247. 
Dewsbury, William. Willingness of, to suffer for his religious testi- 
mony, 219. 
Divine grace. The visitations of, extended to all, even to barbarous 
people, the ignorant, the young, &c, 9. 
Illustrations of the operations of, 10-40. 
On the importance of yielding immediately to the visitations 

of, 117. 
Repentance for past sins one of the early effects of yielding to, 

121. 
mercv and forbearance. Instance of, 97. 



396 INDEX. 

Divine guidance, 242-262, 318, 323, 344. 

guidance and sanction in regard to marriage. On the import- 
ance of seeking, 263. 
revelation not ceased, 323. 
Dreams used at times to convey spiritual instruction, 49. 
Dress. Plainness and simplicity in, enjoined upon the followers of 

Christ, 143, 146, 147, 148. 
Drinking of healths refused by Thomas Story, 198. 
Drunkard. An habitual, solemnly warned by a dream, 57. 

Ellwood, Thomas. The spiritual growth of, hindered by religious 

performances in his own will, 106. 
Emlen, James. Remarks of, on Divine favor often enjoyed early in 

religious experience, 193. 
Everard Barbara. The power of Divine grace displayed through, 819. 
Example of an upright Christian life. The good effect of the, 64, 65, 
66, 67, 68, 69, 70. 
An evil, often veiy hurtful to others, 66. 

I 

Faith. True, 23 

exemplified in t ne life of William Bray, 232, 233, 234. 
of a slave woman, 235. 
Faithfulness to convictions of duty, 88, 94, 214. 

The rewards of, 381. 
Ferris, David. Instruction conveyed to, in a dream, 49, 51. 

ascribes all his knowledge in Divine things to the teachings of 

the Holy Spirit, 110. 
Convinced of the impropriety of the plural language to a 

single person, and of hat honor, 152. 
Remarks of, on the injurious effects of talking too much on 
religious subjects, 375. 
First day of the week. The conscientious observance of the, 83, 94, 

214. 
Flavel, John. The ministry of, made effectual to a hearer after 

many years, 31. 
Fletcher, John. Experience of the love of God, near the close of 
life, 387. 
Mary. Testimony of, respecting plainness of dress, 148. 



INDEX. 397 

Foreign travel. The insidious dangers of, 181. 

Forgiveness of injuries. Powerful effect produced upon others by the 

meek, 69. 
Fothergill, John. Experience by, when very young of the manifesta-* 
tion of the light of Christ against sin, 26. 
Samuel. Instructive dreams related by, 52. 
Friends. The example and appearance of, blessed to others, 18, 151. 

On the testimony of, to plainness of dress, 149. 
Fruits of the Spirit, 121. 

Gardiner, Peter. Instances of Divine revelation in the ministry of, 
327, 328. 
Account of the heavenly end of, 387. 
Gibbons, Hannah. Instructive incident in the life of, 114. 
Gobat, Bishop, remarkably delivered from death, 216. 
Gough, John B. Remarkable instance of the power of Divine Grace 

related by, 35. 
Green, Jacob. Instructive incident recorded of, 148. 
Grellet, Stephen, instructed in regard to the washing of regeneration, 
54. 
Solemn warning by, against spending the day called Christmas 
in a riotous and sinful manner, 58. 
Griffin, Mary. Happy retrospect and experience of, in advanced 

age, 389. 
Griffith, John, delivered from a delusion of Satan, 107. 
Grubb, Sarah [Lynes]. Account by, of a tendering religious oppor- 
tunity, 367. 

Halhead, Miles. Illustration of the continuance of Divine revelation 

in modern times in the case of, 329. 
Hat honor. David Ferris required to bear a testimony against, 152. 
Healy, Christopher. Incident in the ministry of, 315. 
Help providentially extended, 211, 212. 
Helping others. On the duty of, 163. 

Hill, Rowland. Illustration of one of the devices of Satan by, 293. 
Holy Scriptures made instrumental in solacing the heart of an aged 
widow. The, 62. 
Good effect upon others of an example of reading the, 71. 



398 INDEX. 

Holy Scriptures. The, are to be rightly understood only by the 
openings of the Spirit of Christ, 111. 
The, instrumental in saving the life of a young woman, 313. 
Hoag, Joseph. Experience by, of the temptations to and dangers of 
infidelity, 100. 
Instructive incidents in the experience of, 114, 345, 348, 361. 
Testimony of, to the healing virtue of Christ, 200. 
Divinely instructed in regard to a change of residence, 259. 
answers the objections of a slaveholder, 261 . 
Encouragement instrumentally conveyed to, 273. 
Future events foretold by, 324, 325, 326. 

encouraged to trust in the Lord for the support of his family, 
while absent on religious services, 340. 
Holy Spirit. The awful condition of those who reject the visitations 
of the, 95. 
The immediate revelations of the, alone give a right under- 
standing in spiritual concerns, 110. 
Hone, William, reclaimed from infidelity, 24. 
Honesty of Abraham Lincoln. The, 133. 

which flows from the fear of God. Illustrations of, 135, 137. 
Hooper, Geraldine. Reproof administered by, 286. 
Hornold, William. Faithfulness of and thankfulness of, to the Lord, 

at the close of life, 383. 
Horse racing. Solemn instance of Divine mercy and judgment on a 

young man addicted to, 59. 
Humility one of the fruits of the Spirit, 180. 

Indian woman. The prayer of an, 353. 

Infidel reclaimed through the instrumentality of his daughter. An, 
24. 
convinced through the example of an upright Christian. An, 

64. 
A converted, led to make restitution, 127. 
An, answered, 287. 
Infidelity. Disobedience and unwatchfulness lead towards, 98, 99, 101, 
187. 
renounced on the death-bed, 3SS. 
Influence. Observations upon our unconscious, over others, 72. 



T N D E X . 399 

Influence. On the importance of guarding our, 72. 

On the responsibility upon all for the, they exert over others, 

73. 
Intoxicating liquor. The influence of a child against the use or sale 
of, blessed, 22, 23. 

Remarkable reformation of a woman addicted to the use of, 35. 
The power of natural affection used to reclaim a father from 

the use of, 139. 
A prominent professional man induced to abandon the use of, 

139. 
Prayer for Divine help to resist the temptation to use, answered, 

140. 
Bravery, unassisted by Divine grace, not sufficient to resist the 

temptation to use, 141. 

Johnson Dr. Samuel. An act of contrition by, for disobedience to his 
father, 129. 
Remark of, on the effect of luxuries, &c, at a dying hour, 159. 
Jordan, Richard, instance of the baptizing power of the ministry 
of, 318. 
Religious concern of, in social intercourse, 379. 

Kennedy, James. Consistent, upright course of, 91. 
Kindness to a poor widow in her distress. An act of, 160, 162. 
Knox, John. The Scottish reformer, saved from death by obeying an 
internal admonition, 245. 

Language. The plain Scripture of thou, &c, enjoined, 145, 149, 152. 

Law. The practice of the, declined by Thomas Story as a dangerous 
obstruction to his religious progress, 262. 

Leddra, William. The joy of, on the eve of martyrdom, 220. 

Legislature of Virginia. A member of, preserved from death, by 
attending his week-day meeting, 206. 

Lewis, William. Observations of, on the constant need of watchful- 
ness against self love, 376. 

Lincoln, Abraham. Illustrations of the honesty of, 133. 
The kind feelings of, 164, 165. 
The dependence of, upon an overruling Providence, 235. 



400 i n r> e x . 

Lord's care over his people. The, 196. 

Love and concern for the welfare of others, one of the fruits of the 
Spirit, 267. 
at times requires the administration of severe reproof, 276. 
Lybrand, Joseph. Divine intimation to, obeyed, 249. 

Marriage. Sad consequences to a Christian woman from, with an 

irreligious man, 183. 
The importance of seeking Divine guidance in regard to, 263. 
The experience of Frederick Smith of the blessings of religious 

fellowship in, 265. 
Marsh, John Finch. Incident in the ministry of, 317. 
Martyrs. Adrianus, one of the early, 70. 

Heavenly consolations of the, 220, 221, 222. 
Mazarin, Cardinal. Anguish of, near the close of life, 156. 
Ministry. Illustrations of the effects of true gospel, 41, 304, 307, 310, 

311, 318. 
The, of the word of life truly baptising, 43, 44. 
Sorrowful result of a refusal to appear in the, 97. 
Warning to those in the, against highmindedness, 184. 
Account by Thomas Story of his call to visit America in the 

work of the, 299. 
The exercise of, not to be undertaken without an evidence of 

the fresh extension of Divine help, 302, 303, 321, 322, 331 ; 

332, 344, 345, 340, 351. 
The beneficial effects of, largely dependent upon the state of 

mind of the hearer, 305, 317. 
Gifts in the, bestowed on women. 308, 319. 
Illustrations of unity of exercise in the, 315, 316. 
Gifts in the, at times bestowed upon persons of weak mind, 319. 
On the outward maintenance of the. as showed by Christ, 336. 
Diligence in their temporal business advised to those engaged 

in the. 341. 
Outward information at times hurtful to the exercise of the, 

348. 
A, without words, 361. 
The unsatisfying character of that, which does not proceed from 

the Source of all good, 369. 



INDEX. 401 

Moflatt, Robert. Account related by, of the kindness of a poor African 

woman, 170. 
Mother. The influence of a pious, 75. 
Mott, Richard. The effect of the example and conversation of. upon 

a boy, 18. 
Music ought to be refrained from, 157. 

Naylor, James. Testimony of, against deceitful prayers and worship, 
109. 
Extract from, on love to the lost, 27G. 
Divine authority attending the ministry of, 310. 
Neale, Samuel. Account by, of his yielding to Divine visitation, and 
appearance in the ministry, 44. 
instructed to give up gunning and such amusements, S3. 
experiences conversion to be a gradual work, 105. 
respected for using the plain language, 153. 
Remarks of, on the preservation of spiritual greenness, amid 
the decay of the mental powers, 384. 

Oaths. A faithful testimony borne against, 89. 

Obedience to the Spirit of Christ in the heart necessary for the recep- 
tion of the Divine blessing, 80. 
Prompt, to requisitions of duty necessary, 114, 119. 
One step in the right direction opens the way for another, 8(1. 
Operations of Divine grace, 9. 
Opportunity for doing good. Watchfulness in improving an, 116. 

Parker, Theodore. Instructive incident occurring in his childhood 

related by, 13. 
Peckover, Edmund. Solemn religious opportunity of, with Friends, 

367. 
Penington, Isaac, convinced of the truth by the power of God, 321. 

Remarks of, respecting disputes on religious matters, 373. 
Penn, William. The love of. for the Truth, 365, 366. 
Pernicious reading. Illustration of the sorrowful effects of, 124. 
Pierce, Jane. Instance of Divine forbearance and mercy related by, 97. 
Pike, Joseph. Account by, of the baptizing power attending the 

ministry of William Edmundson, 43. 



402 t n n e x . 

Plain .Scripture language of thou to one, &c. The, 145, 149, 152. 

Plainness and simplicity in dress and behavior enjoined upon the 
followers of Christ, 143, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150. 

Poor and afflicted. Instances of holy faith in the, 221, 222. 

Prayer. True, the breathing of the soul to God, through the opera- 
tion of the Holy Spirit, 107, 296, 353. 358. 
How, may become abomination, 109. 
The efficacy of true, 140, 206, 212, 272, 296, 297. 

Prayers and praise of a poor laboring man blessed to a sinful woman, 
The, 61. 

Privateering. A faithful warning against, disregarded, 60. 

Profanity reproved, 70, 274, 278, 279. 

Prophecy. The spirit of, not withdrawn from the church, 323. 

Quietness and composure in times of danger, 219. 

Rachel, Joseph. Kind act of, 166. 

Railroad. Faithfulness to convictions of duty of a conductor on a, 83. 

Providential preservation of a train from wreck on a, 205. 
Redman, Elizabeth L. Incidents in the life of, showing Divine guid- 
ance, 246. 

Religious opportunity of. with a slave-dealer, .'!14. 
Religion. The essence of, consists in being brought under the domin- 
ion of the life and power of Christ, 106. 

Nothing in, can be accceptable to < !od but the genuine product 
of his unerring Spirit, 108. 

On the difference between a theoretical assent to the truths 
of, and a living conviction of their reality, 112. 

A travail of spirit to be experienced in the work of, 194. 

Honesty one of the effects of. 214. 

Illustrations of tlie work and eHect- of. by comparisons drawn 
from the outward world. 289, 290, 291, 292, 294. 

not only preserves the mind from undue cares, but leads to 
industry, 341. 

On the care necessary on entering into controversy concerning, 
368, 372, 373, 374. 

The injurious effects of talking too much on religious subjects, 
375. 

The Christian, that to live bv and to die by, 388. 



[NDEX. 403 

Kemoval of residence. The importance of seeking to the Lord for 

counsel in, 257. 
Renwick, James. One of the Scottish martyrs, 221. 
Eepentance one of the fruits of the Spirit, 121. 
Reproof at times a religious duty, 269. 

The administration of, 274, 277, 278, 280, 282, 283, 286, 287, 
312, 357. 
Restitution of property wrongfully taken one of the effects of yielding 

to Divine Grace, 121, 123, 126, 127, 128. 
Retirement of soul before the Lord. Blessings to be derived from 

frequent, 305, 354, 363, 365, 367, 38(5. 
Rewards of faithfulness, 381 . 

Richardson, George. Instructive incident in the ministry of, 260.- 
Richardson, John. Experience of, in the work of regeneration, 104. 
convinced about hat honor, bowing the knee, and finery in 

habit, 144. 
Observations of, on the need of constant watchfulness, 183. 
Experience by, of tbe virtue of Christ in healing physical 

ailments, 198. 
preserved from the fear of death, 228. 
Divinely instructed in removing his residence, 258. 
Remarks of, on seeking Divine counsel in regard to marriage, 

264. 
Divine opening to, respecting future events, 323. 
Remarks of, on the maintenance of ministers, 336. 
Observations of, on declining to say " grace," before meals, 359. 
Tendering religious opportunity of, with a family in Bermuda, 

364. 
Testimony of, to the religious character, and happy death of 
his wife, 386. 
Robbers. A religious man preserved among, 224. 
Roberts, John. Future events foretold by, 330, 331. 
Robson, Michael. Account by, of his convincement of the principles 

of Friends, 151. 
Routh, Martha, when quite young made sensible of Divine displeas- 
ure, 11. 

Salvation to be known only through the gospel of Christ, 109. 
Scott, Job, when very young instructed in Divine knowledge, 14. 



404 INDEX. 

Scott, Job, convinced that true baptism is not that of water, 43. 
Experience by, of the dangers of infidelity, 99. 
Experience of, in the work of regeneration, 104. 
led to adopt the plain Scripture language of thou to one, &c., 

145. 
Earnest religious concern and supplication of, for the souls of 

others, 271. 
Divine openings on the mind of, 301, 372. 
instructed in silent exercise in religious meetings, 302. 
Rejoicings of, in a sense of Divine favor in the retrospect of 
a religious visit, 381. 
Scotton, Robert. Account related by, of the prayer of an Indian 

woman. 353. 
Secret Society. A member of a. Divinely required to withdraw from 

it, 81. 
Self-love. Tin- constant need <>f Match fulness against, 376. 
Self-indulgence. < hi the danger of yielding to, 185. 
Services to be performed by the followers of ( hrist, 267. 
Shackleton, Richard. Remarks of, on the blessings derived from fre- 
quent retirement of soul before the Lord, 305, 354. 
( aution by, upon writing or speaking on religious subjects, 377. 
Shipton, Anna. Relation by, of the Christian life and services of a 
girl of seventeen, 15. 
Account by, of the effect of the prayers of a poor laboring man, 

61. 
Remarks of, on one who had l>ecome entangled in the snares of 
the world, 181. 
Shipwreck. Remarkable deliverance from, 207, 209. 
Singing praises to the Almighty in an irreverent manner reproved, 

46. 
Simpson, James. Incidents in the ministry of, 332, 333, 334. 
Simpson, John. Concern of, to be industrious in business as well as 

fervent in spirit. '-'A'.). 
Slave-dealer. Religious opportunity of Elizabeth L. Redman with a. 

314. 
Slave-holder rebuked. A former, 283. 

Slavery. Observations of Abraham Lincoln upon the suffering caused 
bv the late civil war in connection with, 239. 



INDEX. 405 

Smith, Abigail. Warning by, against a haughty spirit, 184. 
Smith, Frederick. Experience by, of the blessings of religious fellow- 
ship in marriage, 265. 
Stanton, Daniel, immediately instructed by the visitations of Divine 
Grace, 34. 
Eemarks of, on the baptizing ministry of John Estaugh, 42. 
Illustration by, of the effects of silent exercise of spirit, 42. 
Warning given by, against privateering, 60. 
Exercise of mind of, respecting horse-races, stage-plays and 

other evils in Philadelphia, 154. 
Providential deliverance of, from shipwreck, 207. 
concerned to be diligent in his business, 341. 
Story, Thomas. Testimony of, to the Word of God, as that which 
enables man to understand the Scriptures, 111 
Eemarks of, on bearing the cross in using the plain language, 

&c, 148. 
assisted by Divine grace in time of trial, 197. 
Composure of, in time of danger, 227, 229. 
declines the practice of law from religious conviction, 262. 
called to visit America in the work of the ministry, 299. 
Remarks of, on the maintenance of ministers, 337, 338. 
Eemarks of, on the injury done in the church by messengers 

unsent of God, 344. 
Divine refreshment experienced by, in a meeting without 

words, 351. 
Advice of, against dwelling on the failings of others, 355. 
Account by, of tendering religious opportunities, 365, 366. 
Care of, to wait for the Spirit of Christ before entering into 

controversy on religious subjects, 368. 
Testimony of, to the Divine consolations experienced by Friends 
in Philadelphia during an epidemic sickness in 1699, 386. 
Submission. The want of due, implies a rebellious spirit, 189. 
Submissive spirit. On the need of a, 190, 192, 193. 
Suffering. Through a dispensation of, man is made willing to submit 
to the government of Christ, 104. 



Taulerus. Experience of, in learning the truths which he preached, 
113. 



406 INDEX. 

Temptation. Warning given by a criminal against yielding to the 
first, 185. 
A, resisted, 186. 
Those who have experienced, themselves, qualified to advise 

against it, 287. 
to self-destruction overcome, 313. 
Thomas, Abel. The gospel ministry of, blessed to Joseph Hoag, 101. 
Thompson, Thomas. Dedication of heart of, to the Lord, and tri- 
umphant end, 383. 
Thorp, John. ( aution extended by, to a person depressed in mind, 

108. 
Tobacco. Temptation of a child to use, resisted, 19. 
Todd, Dr. John. Repentance of, for an act of disobedience and false- 
hood to his father, 130. 
Trust of a poor weaver justified. The, 203. 

Unfaithful forfeit the esteem and respect of others. The, 77. 
Unfaithfulness to convictions of duty. The sorrowful consequences of, 

114, 115, US, 119, 183. 
Unkindness to a poor woman deeply repented of, 131. 

"Wain. Nicholas. Composure of, in time of danger, 226. 
War an evidence of the spiritual blindness which has overspread Chris- 
tendom, 179. 
Testimony of the Duke of Wellington against, 179. 
Compunction of a soldier who had killed another in, 180. 
Damage providentially prevented during a, 217, 218. 
Trusting in the Lord during an Indian, 229. 
Waring, Thomas. Divine intimation to, obeyed, 251. 
Warning conveyed by a dream, 52, 53, 55, 57. 

Warren, .Matthew. Incident in the life of, illustrating Divine guid- 
ance, 24">. 
Watchfulness. Illustration of the need of, over their conduct, by pro- 
fessors of religion, 78, 184, 187. 
Webster, Daniel. Anecdotes of, 174, 175. 
Wesley, John. A prayer of, answered, 206. 

Wheeler. Daniel, submitting to the visitations of Divine grace, led in 
the path of self denial, 14.'!. 



INDEX. 407 

Williams, William. Account related by, concerning a little girl, 20. 
led to reprove a young woman for singing praises to her Maker 
in an irreverent manner, 46. 
Wilson, John. Reconciliation of, with Thomas H. Benton, 175. 
Wilson, Thomas. Notice of the powerful ministry of, 41, 46, 321. 

Peace of, in his dying hours, 382. 
Withy, George. Incidents in the life of, illustrating Divine guidance, 

245, 309. 
Wine. The excessive use of, found to be an obstacle to peace of soul, 
81. 
and spirits. The sale of, abandoned under a requisition of duty, 
84. 
Worship. The advantage to young children of silent, 15. 

The faithful attendance of meetings for, in the middle of the 

week, 73. 
Experience of a Friend tempted with drowsiness in a meeting 

for, 288. 
Blessings attending a silent exercise of soul in meetings for, 

302, 305, 351, 356. 
Advice against indulging a drowsy or wandering spirit in meet- 
ings for, 355, 357. 
Worth, Ebenezer. Instance of the long suffering and goodness of the 

Lord, related by, 33. 
Wright, Edward. Remarkable conversion of, 37. 

Remarks on actions of, while in spiritual darkness, 141. 

Young. Incidents showing the effects of Divine grace upon the, 11-27. 

The, made instrumental for good in the Divine hand, 22. 
Young woman. Account of the religious awakening of a, 30, 31. 



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